


Foul Play

by AcerbicIron_y



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anti-Hero Tony Stark, BAMF James "Rhodey" Rhodes, BAMF Natasha Romanov, BAMF Stephen Strange, BAMF Tony Stark, BAMF Wade Wilson, BAMF Wong, Canon Relationships Aren’t Ignored, Canon-Typical Violence, Civil War Team Iron Man, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fix-It, M/M, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Morally Ambiguous Character, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, Slow Burn, Stephen Strange Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Time Travel Fix-It, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange parenting Peter Parker | Supremefamily | Strange Family, Tony-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-06-27 05:06:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19783861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcerbicIron_y/pseuds/AcerbicIron_y
Summary: Stephen Strange agrees to assist the Avengers in finally taking down the nefarious criminal, Ironman. After his encounter with the villain’s associates and then the man himself, his frail trust in the team of heroes he’s helping only begins to deepen.Whenever a ruthless alien by the name of Thanos threatens to kill half of all life in the universe, Stephen and the Avengers team up once again to stop another danger.Only this time, the threat is too powerful.Stephen decides to go back in time to meet the man who predicted the arrival of the madman to begin with.Once again, he will need to face Tony Stark.





	1. Severed Team

**Author's Note:**

> I had the idea of this story rattling around in my head for months so I’m finally putting it into practice. I’m gonna say right now that I’m seeing this story turning into a long one the more I write it, which also means the slow burn tag will live up to its name. 
> 
> With all of that being said, Endgame completely crushed and destroyed my heart, and Tony Stark deserves his own damn happiness along with the world! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Actions have consequences

Only two noises could be registered in Tony’s mind. That of the capricious blizzard outside and the deafening sound of his own pounding heart in his ears.

The feeling Tony had whenever he went after Rogers and Barnes was screaming at him to take precautions. To prepare in case the worst were to happen. But he ignored it and now here he was.

Trapped in an abandoned bunker in Siberia with nothing but regret. His teammate chose to keep what he knew about his parents’ murder a secret from him. No one else was going to come to his aid and he was dying as fast as he was forcing cold air into his lungs.

Tony couldn’t believe how stupid and betrayed he felt for thinking he could trust Rogers. The same man who had sided against him instead of trying to talk to him. They were supposed to be a team.

His face and fingers were numb from the cold, and he felt drained and tired from how much energy he had used fighting in blind rage. Pain was the only important thought that kept circling around in his mind. From his body’s injuries or from Rogers and his abandonment.

His head felt like it was full of lead whenever he tried to do something as simple as turn it. Tony’s eyes landed on the shield that had dealt the final blow to breaking up the Avengers. He was going to melt that thing down into one of his next suits if he got out of here alive.

But he knew that was an empty promise.

Friday had been offline for sometime now after Rogers dealt that blow to his chest, and he knew for a fact that his tech for flying out of here was unreliable. He didn’t want them to give out on him and end up stranded in the cold.

Tony could probably find a way out of here if he really, truly wanted to. But he honestly didn’t see that much of a point.

Natasha had stabbed him in the back at the last minute, T’Challa had up and left, and Rhodey. Tony let out a pained groan. Oh God, Rhodey.

His best friend was in a hospital being treated for the fall he took because of Tony. Rhodey will have to pay dearly for fighting alongside him. For having faith in him. Hot tears began to well up and blur his focus on what was now known to him as the infamous shield.

How could he have not taken more precautions to protect his friend? Always, something had to go wrong whenever he got involved. Whether it was with Ultron or the Avengers or Pepper, he always somehow managed to do something to mess everything up.

Pepper.

A sweet smile she gave him whenever he complimented her, the way her eyes lit up whenever she saw something she liked, or that powerful voice she used whenever she said something in complete confidence.

Tony wished he’d apologized to her. He had realized how selfish he was being the day he got mad at her for bringing up an issue she had. She had told him that his attention was solely on the Avengers. Pepper had said that she wished Tony would spend more time with her. His response was to get defensive and cause something small and fixable to completely blow out of proportion.

Tony had taken his stress and anger out on her. He knew what had happened between them was his fault the second Pepper said she needed to take a break. He had felt consumed with guilt. But not enough of it to lay down his pride and apologize to her.

Tony began to feel breathing become harder and harder while he tried to focus his eyes on the shield, and his mind on the people he treasured.

Peter was such a good kid. He had such a big heart and fought with passion from believing he was doing the right thing. He remembered he had praised the kid on their way to face the Rogues and watched the way Peter’s face had lit up like Christmas.

He smiled a little. It had made Tony feel so warm and happy to know that the kid reflected exactly what he thought whenever Tony gave him approval.

He wanted to see what kind of face Peter would have made if he suggested they go to his workshop to make something, or if they went out for pizza, or if the kid would tell him how jumping on and swinging around buildings was how he wanted to save people.

Tony hadn’t realized when his eyelids had become so heavy until he had to force himself to keep them open. His body felt like he was floating on water, and the only feeling he could process was the needle-like sensation from the cold on his tear streaked cheeks.

The faces of everyone he knew went through his mind, before he finally succumbed to sleep.

* * *

Tony awoke to the sound of gentle murmuring being spoken around him. He could feel that the air was no longer an unforgiving blizzard, but it was still cold. A steady pattern of beeping helped him ease his way back into reality.

”—vere damage on his chest area where his,” a pause. “Repulsor Tech node is.” The voice, a collected male informed. “Along with a shattered wrist and a few broken ribs.”

A pained gasp from a woman. “Oh God.” _Pepper_.

“Fortunately we were able to get into contact with his personal physician, who helped us with his surgical procedure.” The man assured her. “Dr. Stark himself will need to replace what was in his chest but we, with the help of his personal doctor, have managed to keep it stable for what we estimate is a few hours.”

He could hear Pepper trying to calm herself down by taking sharp breaths. “Is he okay? Will he live?”

”His broken ribs will take about six weeks to heal while his wrist will take longer. We’re looking at about three months for the trauma to heal fully.” The man said to her.

A long pause. “What did the woman you spoke to say whenever she explained what had happened?” Pepper asked with more calm.

The man, who Tony assumed was the doctor, answered. “The woman who claims she recovered Dr. Stark said she brought him here from an abandoned bunker in Siberia. She said he had sustained injuries from engaging in a fight. She claims the attackers disabled his suit and left him to die.” The man took a few seconds before cautiously continuing. “She said something about this having to do with a terrorist with a vendetta against the Avengers.”

“Jesus.” She breathed out. “I need to process this, just, please give me some time to myself.”

“Of course, Ms. Potts. I’ll come back in half an hour.” The doctor said to her.

The man took a second before Tony could hear his footsteps click on the floor to open and close a door. That left only him and Pepper with the heart monitor as the only noise.

A few seconds ticked by with nothing from Pepper. He wondered if maybe she had also left the room, before he heard gasps of breath echoing.

Tony’s heart clenched in his chest. She shouldn’t be crying. Why did her sobs sound like that? His very first instinct was to comfort her. To open his eyes and smile and assure her that he was okay. To hug her and rub soothing circles into her back.

But he knew Pepper wouldn’t want that. She was a strong woman who didn’t like to appear vulnerable to anybody. Including him. The first time Tony ever saw her cry, she held up her hands to block his view of her and told him she needed time to herself. She was embarrassed to be seen like this. Something he knew too well.

Tony at least owed her this. A small mercy he could give her. He didn’t have the right to see her like this.

He could hear her hands on her face as she weeped openly in front of what she thought was his unconscious body. She hiccuped and gasped for breath as she choked on tears that were running down her face.

Pepper’s desperate sobbing began to die slowly as she sobered. He could imagine her wiping her puffy eyes and fanning herself to regain her composure.

One of the most precious people in Tony’s life was crying tears for his sake. Pepper didn’t deserve all of this heartache and hurt because of him. He didn’t tell her about why he was stressing out so much during the Accords signing. He simply smiled and played down just how much it was affecting the Avengers.

Whenever they decided to take a break, he gave her all the space he could. Tony didn’t want her to worry about him. He didn’t want to tell her anything or involve her in any way. He was giving Pepper her break from him and time to heal. She was running Stark Industries and he didn’t want to put anymore stress on her by involving her in Avengers business. He made Rhodey promise him he wouldn’t breathe a word of what they were planning to Pepper.

And now that he had dragged both of his friends down with him, this was how he was suffering the consequences.

Tony could hear her take in deep breaths, hold them in for a few seconds, and then exhale. She did this several times before there was only the heart monitor again.

Tony gave Pepper a few seconds to herself, before he finally decided to open his eyes.

He looked around the small room both of them were in, and then steeled his nerves to meet Pepper’s eyes.

They were puffy and red, but the rest of her face was set in a glare. She was staring him down and any other time he would have readily met her eyes as a challenge. However, this time he shoved down his pride, and looked away.

Tony cleared his throat and felt that it was hoarse and felt raw. “Hi.”

Her frown deepened.

He took in a deep breath. “Pepper—“

”Stop.” She demanded.

He did.

“Don’t say another word.” She told him. “For once in this life, I want _you_ to listen to _me_.”

He swallowed and forced himself to nod.

”Anthony Edward Stark,” She began lowly. “I have been trying to call you and Rhodey God knows _how_ many times. I wanted to talk to you so we could work things out together and fix our relationship. But after the countless calls and voicemails I left I’d thought that you were _ignoring_ me and you told Rhodey to do the same. But then I turn on the news, and guess what I see?”

Her voice raised. “I see both of you,” He flinched. “Fighting superhumans, not to mention friends or even teammates, right in front of my face!” She said with fury.

“I don’t know _what_ to think! And then the next thing I know, I get a call from two different hospitals both telling me those same two people are being rushed to the emergency room! One of them won’t be able to walk another day in his life,” Tony’s eyes widened. “And the other was found nearly frozen to death, beaten to a bloody pulp, with the only thing keeping him alive badly damaged and with all of this taking place in an abandoned terrorist bunker!” She yelled.

Her breathing was erratic and he could hear his wasn’t any better.

The heart monitor was beeping at a fast rate while the silence between them stretched on.

Finally, Pepper looked away from him by covering the bridge of her nose with both of her hands. “You cannot even begin to imagine how _shitty_ I felt for being mad at you.” She said with a softer voice. “I couldn’t believe that while I was furious at you for not talking to me, you were slowly dying alone.” She all but whispered.

He hated that his eyes were welling up with tears.

”Tony.” She said dropping her hands and meeting his eyes again. “You are one of the most complicated people I know. You have ideas and thoughts I’ll never be able to think, and experiences that I could never understand.” She took his injured hand in hers. “I worry about you so much because I’ve watched you destroy yourself. You have absolutely no regard for your own life.” Pepper gave his hand a small squeeze. “And this proves it. Jesus, you could have died in there!” She said with a sudden raise of her voice.

”I don’t know what I would have done if that had happened to you!” She said incredulously. “You put so much distance between me and Rhodey and anyone else who you consider family! And today it nearly cost you.” She said choked up.

”Friday didn’t know who to call. Rhodey was getting surgery and I was in a board meeting I couldn’t afford to miss.” She paused before she continued. “You’re only alive because she had one of your suits fly all the way to Siberia to save you and bring you here.” Tears were running down her cheeks.“She was almost too late, Tony.”

He felt burning shame boil in him. For letting Pepper see him this way, and for not planning ahead.

”I try my hardest to accommodate your feelings.” Pepper told him while she wiped her tears as fast as she could. “I know how much it must pain you to think about, I can’t imagine what you must be feeling right now, but Tony, I need to know what happened in that bunker.”

Tony didn’t say a word for a long time. He stared at the far end of the room wall as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Yes, he was upset, but he knew Pepper was at her wit’s end. He at least owed her an explanation. He swallowed the hard lump in his throat and licked his lips. “Rogers.” He said quietly. 

If Pepper had been even an inch farther away, she might not have heard what he had said. “Him and Barnes were there. Whenever I was in that bunker. I found out something and I reacted wrong.” his voice cracked. “I was just,” his uninjured hand gripped the sheets of the hospital bed. “Just so _angry._ “

He thought about Steve Rogers smiling at him and talking to him as if he knew nothing. No mention of Hydra or anything of the sort. Nothing for Rogers to converse with Tony about other than to tell him how selfish or arrogant he thought he was.

“Rogers fucking knew something I needed to know and he _didn’t tell me_.” He was starting to see red hot white.

He remembered meeting the eyes of Barnes, the man who had murdered them. In blind rage he didn’t think, didn’t want to think anything other than the harsh reality he had watched on that screen. And that ugly revelation was that he no longer had a family because of James Buchanan Barnes.

“I shouldn’t have attacked him.” He admitted without specifying who. “And I wouldn’t have if Rogers had just told me from the beginning that there was more work at play. If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have reacted the way I did.”

Tony thought for a moment. ”Of course I know I shouldn’t blame him for my own mistakes but what can I say? Everything aligned in the worst ways possible, which could have been prevented on his part. He didn’t tell me anything, I found out the wrong way, and as a result I was fucking livid.”

“Tony.” She said softly to him. “Just tell me what’s wrong.”

At those words, he felt all of his exhaustion weigh heavily on him. He wanted to shut off his mind for a few seconds or think of something other than what was stressing him out, and maybe even talk about it, but right now all he had was Pepper. Who was equally tired and stressed out. He couldn’t put any more stress her.

Tony let out a long sigh.“I’m just tired.” He said. _And very fucking angry._ He didn’t say.

It hurt to breathe and nothing but panic flooded his veins. So much had happened. Ultron, Wanda, Rhodey, the fight with the Rogues, Barnes and his parents, Pepper leaving him, and Rogers.

None of the Avengers were with him.

Rogers leaving his side without a second thought, Wanda’s active hostility towards him, Banner not caring about how leaving would effect them, Natasha’s lack of loyalty towards anything to do with him, Thor being unreliable, Clint and Sam blindly following Rogers without hearing what he had to say, and Vision accidentally shooting Rhodey.

There was so much tension and suspicion among them. All of them would readily side together to side against him. And that made him wonder if they were ever actually a team.

Tony couldn’t get any air into his lungs. His eyes were shut tight and the stress he felt was painful. Everything felt too small, he felt restrained, and he had nearly died. He could be dying right now too.

” _Tony_!” Pepper yelled with panic.

His eyes snapped open. The heart monitor was going nuts and Pepper was gripping his shoulders so tightly he felt like he would be crushed if she applied just a bit more pressure.

”Breathe.” She said sternly to him.

He did. His chest felt like it had a twenty pound weight on it, but he managed to breathe.

Tony had just let Pepper see him have an anxiety attack. The one person in the world who had enough of him to already deal with.

”I’m so sorry about what had happened to you.” Pepper said with sincerity. “I get it. You’re not ready to talk yet.”

She pulled him into a hug. “Thank you for clearing a few things up for me.” She told him. “From the sound of it, I don’t think you should see Rogers or this Barnes person for a while. Whenever you’re ready, we can talk about what needs to be discussed.” Pepper said with a pointed look.

He breathed from where he rested on her shoulder. “I need a break, Pepper.” He whispered to her. “I really don’t want to see any of them right now. Rogers or the Avengers.”

”Then don’t.”

The Accords, Nick Fury no where in sight, trying to juggle all the mixed personalities and hostilities in the team, Rogers actively trying to dismantle them by insisting his judgement had no faults, and how he had pushed Pepper away because he wanted to take this all on alone. But he had to. In time, he could handle it.

“Just relax for now, and you can talk to your team later. I’m sure you can all work this out.” She told him.

Tony considered her words. He knew Pepper meant it to be reassuring, but it sounded like a fantasy that didn’t and wouldn’t ever exist.

There were times whenever he and Rogers made a good team whenever they were compromised enough to have to work together, he had actually found a friend in Bruce where they would go down to his workshop and tinker for hours coming up with new designs and theories, Natasha sure had pissed him off with the double agent trick yet again but he could forgive her. Never trust her again, but he could forgive her.

Then there was Wanda. She was someone who didn’t know how to properly control herself and didn’t seem to mind hurting others for her own benefit. Needless to say, he didn’t like her and being as stubborn as he was, he probably never would. Tony was worried about Vision’s developing interest in her too. Vision was someone he did come to care about. After Ultron, sometimes he and the AI would sit down and just talk, or they would decide to get up and cook something together.

Clint would spend any time he could with Natasha, and whenever he wasn’t doing that he avoided Tony like the plague. Sam was busy with Rogers most of the time. He never really had a chance to talk to the guy.

And regardless of the small truce they all silently agreed upon whenever duties call, the fight that had happened between all of them made the fact that they were not together blatantly clear. To break apart a team who didn’t trust each other had been scarily easy. Who’s to say it won’t happen again?

Tony could think more about this and gather Rhodey’s thoughts on the matter later, but right now two lovely eyes were watching him with worry.

”Pepper.” He began. He’s never been good at apologies. Tony knew whenever he messed up, but his ego would refuse to take any actions to atone. Word-wise that is. Like the woman sitting before him, he was a man who hated to look weak, but unlike her, he still hadn’t mastered humility.

”I’m sorry.”

She gave him an _is that all_ look.

”And also, you know, for being a bad boyfriend.” He said looking anywhere but at her. “That too.”

Pepper smiled a little. “Well it’s a half-ass apology, but it’ll do.” He smiled a little in turn.

She sighed before she rummaged through her purse and took out new folded clothes that were his. “Now that that’s out of the way, knowing you, you’ll want to get out of here as soon as possible. I’m just saving you the trouble.”

Tony eyed the clothes and then looked back at her. He shouldn’t, he really shouldn’t, but he never knew when to watch what he said. “Any chance we’re done with our break?”

Pepper stared at him with an incredulous look. “Really? You want to do this _now_?

”Well, I tried.” He said as he attempted to get up with a grunt. “But you’re right. Not even you could stop me, Ms. Potts. I need to talk to a few people before I decide what I’m going to do about the Avengers.”

Tony definitely felt what the doctor talking to Pepper meant whenever he mentioned the injuries. His wrist as well as his forearm were encased in a cast and a brace was set around his ribs. He hissed at the pain that was still fresh but managed to power through it to eventually sit up.

The whole time Pepper was watching him with an unreadable look set on her face. “The doctor I talked to said your ribs will take a month and a half to heal and your wrist about three.” She told him.

“Yeah, I h—“ _heard._ Tony had nearly said. He almost slipped. Pepper didn’t know that he was awake to hear the conversation she and the doctor had. “I, um, I had to learn some time ago how long fractures took to heal. I’ve known for a while now. Had to since I’m Ironman.” He explained.

Pepper sighed in annoyance. “Right, sorry, my mistake for assuming you didn’t know about your injuries.” She said sardonically. She stood up giving him a look to show she was irritated with him.

He clenched his teeth together.

“I’m glad that you’re alright. I forgive you, and keep in mind that I’ll call you to check up on you.” She picked up her bag and tried to give him a softer look, but she was evidently still annoyed with him. “Sorry.” She said pinching the bridge of her nose.

”It’s just,” Pepper dropped her hand and looked at him with a weary expression. “I feel like whenever you speak, you only ever think about yourself.”

Yeah, that one hurt.

Tony knew she was right. He liked to say what he wanted to people not really thinking about how they would interpret it, but with things like this, he thought talking about what happened to himself was selfish. He liked to joke around a lot and come up with nicknames that sometimes didn’t sit well with others, but with people like Pepper, he tried his best to be a friend in a way he knew.

By trying not to bother them with his many problems.

Yes it pained him to hear her say that, but by not telling Pepper anything and poking at a sore spot, he had that coming. So he met her eyes and put on his billionaire smile. “I’ll work on it.”

Pepper seemed to take comfort in that as she tried for a smile and fell short. “I’ll call you later, Tony.” She promised before she turned around and walked out of the room.

As soon as she was gone, his smile slipped from his face. Tony let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his face with both of his hands.

”Friday?” He asked the tablet sitting on the bedside table. Pepper left it for him.

”Yes, boss?” Came the reply.

”Delete the footage of my conversation with Ms. Potts and my leaving the hospital.” He told her as he struggled to get on his feet.

”On it.” She told him.

Tony managed to get his clothes on with a lot of wincing and cursing from his still tender injuries. “Where am I and how long was I out?” He asked as he got to work on his shoes.

”You’re at the Metro-General Hospital in New York City, boss. You’ve been asleep at this hospital for two hours and seven minutes.” Friday informed.

”Hm. Seemed like it was long than that.” He mused to himself. “Why did you bring me all the way to New York?” He asked as he finished tying his other shoe.

”I thought it best for you to interact with Ms. Potts, assumed you would want to speak with the Avengers, and hoped you would return home to rest, boss.” Friday told him.

”How long since,” Tony glared at nothing. “How long since the incident in Siberia?” He asked her.

“Approximately two hours and twenty-one minutes.” She informed him.

He paused for a second. “How long was I in surgery for?”

*”Two hours and nine minutes.”

Tony stood up and walked over to pick up the Starkpad. “Is Rhodey out of the hospital yet?” He asked her.

”No.” She told him.

He was going to need to get used to picking up things with his left hand because of the broken wrist he had. “Set one of the cars to drive here.” He told her as he walked out of the room.

”Already done, boss. A car is currently parked outside this hospital.” She said as he put in his earpiece.

Tony smiled. “Attagirl.” He said as he walked through the hallway.

One of the many busy people rushing around stopped and took notice of him. “Dr. Stark.” The man said with a frown.

”I’m glad to see you’re okay, but you really shouldn’t be up.” The doctor said as he walked up to him. “Where is Ms. Potts?”

Tony realized that this was the doctor who was talking to Pepper earlier. “She left a few minutes ago.” He said to the man. “But really, I have things to do and I’m sure you have more patients in need of your care.” He told the doctor. “I’ll be on my way,” he glanced at the man’s name tag. “Dr. Miller.” He said as he easily stepped past the man.

He made quickly for the elevator before the doctor had any time to protest. “Is Rhodey still taking visitors?” He asked Friday.

”Yes, boss.” Came her reply through the earpiece.

No one else made an attempt to stop him, or even pay him any mind. The doctors, nurses, and families of the patients were all stressed out in their own ways as they rushed to where they needed to be.

He left the lobby and saw his orange Audi R8 waiting for him. “Wow, Fri,” Tony said with a smirk. “You wanted to be flashy did you?” He teased.

”Of course, boss.” She said to him. “Would you like to drive to the hospital Colonel Rhodes is currently at?” She asked him.

Tony got into the car. “No.” He said. “We’re going back to my workshop.”

”I wouldn’t want to see Rhodey without a get well gift.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *In Ironman 3 the suit crosses a distance of 832 miles between Tennessee and Miami in a little under 4 minutes! 
> 
> Characters who have canonically done not-so-smart things will eventually have to face the result it causes. That being said, I’m trying not to character bash. Namely with a few characters in the Rogues. However, here and there something may slip~


	2. Forming Allies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The host becomes the visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After Ironman 3 Tony gets his house destroyed. I know he lived somewhere else for a time, but I’m going with him living in New York. In Infinity War he was in New York whenever Doctor Strange(wink) went to go get him, and it’s honestly better for this storyline. I’m saying right now, he’s living in New York. 
> 
> I’m trying to update twice every week and not all of them will be back-to-back ones. 
> 
> Keeping all of this in mind, I hope you enjoy my story.

“Boss, I think you should fix the Repulsor Tech node.” Friday said to him. “Not to mention the repeated use of your injury.”

Tony had been working on his latest project for at least a few hours straight, making his workshop look like a bomb had been detonated. He was rushing to get this finished so he could go and see his friend. “I’m almost done.” He told her while he began assembling the finished pieces together.

His hair was sticking to his forehead and he was really starting to see how much more difficult this cast was making his working process. It wasn’t easy to be so restricted whenever he worked. “Friday, how long would you say a broken wrist takes to heal?”

” _A_ broken wrist, or _your_ broken wrist, boss?” She asked him.

”My my where did you learn such sass, young lady?” Tony asked as he finished the body of what he was working on. Next was attaching the harness.

”Only from the best, boss.” She replied. “A human wrist takes normally eight weeks to heal. However in your case, the doctor who diagnosed you was correct. I estimate three months for full recovery.

“Great.” He said with an eye roll. “Okay, aside from what happened to me, what’s the status with everyone else?”

Friday took a second to reply. “Who is ‘everyone else’?” She asked him.

If he didn’t know any better, he would have suspected she was doing this on purpose. “‘Everyone else’ is anyone I listed on the ‘Help Immediately List’. Or just ‘head for the HIL’s’ if I decide to be a badass and use a code name instead.”

Tony finished tightening the harness and took a step back. “I think that’s everything.” He sighed as he wiped the sweat from his brow. “Oh shit.” He had accidentally used his cast to do so. “Well that’s not sanitary.” Tony muttered as he walked over to his mini kitchen.

”Shall I go by name placement?” Friday asked him.

He waved her off while he chugged down a water bottle.

”Ms. Potts has just arrived at Stark Industries from her visit with Colonel Rhodes, Colonel Rhodes is currently still in hospital care, Happy is currently with Ms. Potts, The Vision is currently at the Avenger’s Compound, Peter Parker is currently in New York City, Bruce Banner is still unknown, Natasha Romanov is currently in Wakanda with the Rogue Avengers, Nick Fury is still unknown.” She finished.

Tony drank his entire water bottle before throwing it into the trash can across the room. “Wakanda, huh?” He asked aloud. “Alright, now everyone on my ‘Shit List’.” Tony said with a smirk.

”Wanda Maximoff is currently in Wakanda with the Rogue Avengers, Steve Rogers is currently in Wakanda with the Rogue Avengers, Clint Barton is currently in Wakanda with the Rogue Avengers, Secretary Thaddeus Ross is currently in Washington DC talking to the government, Loki Odinson is still unknown.”

He would need to have a word with T’Challa at some point in time. “Okay,” He said as he rushed back over to his project. Everything was set in place. He tested how the materials and metals worked together and carefully watched the fluidity of motions it made. It all functioned perfectly. 

Tony frowned at the piece. “Hmm... something’s not quite right.” He muttered.

”Not right?” Friday questioned.

”Yeah.” Tony said still not taking his eyes off the piece. All of it worked together like it should, but something was still off about it. “Friday tes—

The sound of a doorbell interrupted him.

Tony halted in his thoughts and looked toward the noise confused. Any number of people would come to his house, but any of those people with the exception of Pepper and Rhodey, and most likely Nick Fury, shouldn’t know where he lived. “Who is that?” He asked Friday.

”Peter Parker is at your door, boss.”

”What? The kid?” He asked as he pulled up a security monitor. Sure enough, there was Peter standing at his front door examining everything around him like he was on an alien planet.

Tony watched Peter gawk for a bit, before he saw his head turn to look curiously up into the camera he was using to watch him. The kid had his big brown eyes set right on Tony and he didn’t even know it. He silently watched him for a few seconds, before he finally came to a decision. “I’m going soft.” He said with a sigh. “Let the kid in.” Tony declared while he shut off the light to his workshop.

He climbed up the stairs and as he walked in, Peter still had the same awestruck face Tony had seen just a moment ago.

Peter’s wandering eyes finally landed on him, and the kid’s face brightened up with a smile. “Hey, Mr. Stark!” He greeted.

Tony had seen Peter only a few hours ago, but it felt like it had been nearly a week. Everything had happened in such a short span of time that Tony had all but forgotten that the kid still didn’t know what was going on.

Peter didn’t look like he had any visible injuries. Not even a bruise or scratch to show from that fight they had been a part of. Tony had seen Rogers hit the kid. And from where he was, it didn’t look like a light punch. If Peter was hurting at all, he sure as hell didn’t show it.

”Hi,” Tony started with a frown. “What are you doing here, kid?”

Peter looked like he just realized that he probably shouldn’t know where Tony lived. “Oh, right.” He said as his smile died down a little. “I’ve been calling Happy ever since I got back to New York. He wouldn’t answer my calls so I left, like, a billion voicemails asking what had happened to you after I left. He finally picked up and yelled me your address before he hung up on me.”

Right. Tony still hasn’t seen Happy yet. He expected him to be with Pepper whenever she visited him, but Happy must have been somewhere else. “So Happy gave you my address. Great. Just don’t go giving it away or posting it anywhere, kid. Didn’t end well for me last time.”

”Oh, don’t worry, Mr. Stark! I wouldn’t do that to you.” Peter laughed. “But I guess this makes us even now. Since you know where I live too.”

Tony examined Peter for a second while he thought about what would happen if the kid really did give away his address. He was alarmed at himself whenever he realized Peter knowing where he lived didn’t cause him to panic as much as it should have. Especially since all he really ever did was worry. And speaking of which.

”Your hot aunt know you’re here?” Tony asked as he made his way over to his actual kitchen.

Peter cringed at the word Tony used to describe his guardian. “Uh, no actually.” He said with a guilty laugh. “She also thinks I was on a school trip whenever we went to Berlin, and that right now I’m out with my friend Ned.”

Tony turned on the coffee machine and leaned on the kitchen island. Peter was still glued to his spot staring at him.

”What are you doing? You’re not a statue.” He said as he waved him over.

”Oh, sorry.” Peter said sheepishly. He hovered by the island while Tony walked over to his fridge.

“You want anything?” Tony asked while he threw open his refrigerator and examined the contents. “Milk, orange juice, water, coffee,” He listed.

”Coffee?” Peter asked confused. “This late?”

”Yeah.” Tony said, closing the fridge. “You want any?”

Peter took a few seconds to really ponder the offer. Like what Tony asked was a matter of life and death. Finally, after a lot of thought into that simple question, he answered. “Sure.”

Tony raised an eyebrow at Peter but didn’t comment on it. “Trust me, this stuff’s better than whatever garbage you kids like to drink at Starbucks.” Tony assured as he made his way to the coffeemaker.

Peter smiled at that. “Well I wouldn’t know the difference.” He said. “I’ve never had coffee.”

Tony halted in his steps and faced Peter with a look of complete dumbfound. “You’ve _never_ had coffee?”

Peter stood there looking caught off guard by Tony’s reaction. “No.” He said cautiously. “Aunt May says coffee is bad for me.” The kid explained.

Tony shook his head in disbelief as he walked faster to the coffeemaker. “Sit down, right now.” He ordered as he opened the cabinets and set down two mugs.

He poured two generous servings of coffee and turned around with the cups to see Peter sitting very much out of his element.

”I am officially lost for words.” Tony confessed as he set the two mugs down. “My opinion of your aunt has drastically changed.”

Peter smiled a bit as he eyed the two drinks. “Well it smells good.” He commented.

”Oh kid, you have no idea.” Tony told him. “It’s heaven in a cup and a complete lifesaver if you don’t get sleep but need to stay up. Do you like desserts? Cake, ice cream, that stuff?”

Peter shrugged. “They’re okay I guess.”

”Okay, then you probably don’t need sugar with it.” He said as he slid one of the cups over to Peter. “It’s better that way too since sugar ruins the flavor.” Tony picked up his cup and took a sip. He closed his eyes and hummed in ecstasy at the delicious flavor.

The kid stared down at his cup and watched steam rise from it.

”Try it.” Tony insisted. “But I swear, if you make any face other than “good,” you’re not allowed in my house again.” He warned.

Peter picked up the warm mug and took a tentative sip of coffee.

Tony was carefully watching the kid’s face to gauge his reaction and watched as Peter’s eyebrows rose in interest when he tasted it. “Good?” Tony asked.

”Wow.” Peter said as he lowered the cup a little. “Yeah, that’s really good! It’s really smooth and it tastes rich.” The kid explained as he took another sip of coffee.

Tony smiled a little whenever he was sure Peter had all of his focus on his coffee. He still couldn’t believe the kid had never tasted coffee before, but now he was glad he could give something like this to him. Tony liked seeing Peter’s face whenever he genuinely liked something.

He would never admit it, but he was growing fond of Peter. He was smart, quirky, and just a good kid. Tony had spent hours putting together a Spiderman costume he thought Peter would like despite never meeting him at the time. He gave it a cool design and neat little functions because he liked what he saw in the kid and decided to give him a shot.

And all of his hard work on it paid off once Peter expressed how grateful he was and how amazing he thought the suit was. Tony watched Peter take on the Rogues like a pro whenever he caught on to how the suit worked. He was impressed that Peter got the hang of his technology so quickly and didn’t even ask for his help or struggle with it.

And even apart from the suit, the kid himself was unique. Peter had talked his ear off on their way to Berlin about movies and chemistry, and Tony found that he didn’t mind it one bit. In fact, he liked that the kid was eager to share his interests with him. It was nice to hear someone talk to him about something other than Avengers business and new threats approaching the Earth.

On their trip Peter had given Tony a huge break and it helped calm him down for their fight with the Rogues. If the kid hadn’t been there, things could have gone exponentially worse. And Tony had realized in that bunker that Peter was someone he found himself beginning to care for.

”Can I have another cup?” Peter asked whenever he finished.

Tony forced the smile from his face and faked nonchalance. “I don’t see why not.” He said as he took the kid’s cup and walked back over to the coffee maker.

”Oh yeah, I was gonna ask, what happened to your arm, Mr. Stark?” The kid questioned.

He finished pouring the coffee and walked back over. “Just got a little injury during the fight with the Rogues.” He explained. “But you don’t even have a scratch on you.” Tony said as he gave the cup back to Peter.

The kid wasted no time gulping his coffee. “That’s because I have really fast healing factors.” Peter told him. “It came with my powers.”

Tony drank some of his coffee. “Interesting. You wanna tell me more about your superpowers story?”

Peter lowered his mug and smiled at him. “Sure. But it’s honestly not that interesting.” He said with a shrug.

”Kid, you gained healing factors from a spider. I doubt anything you tell me won’t _not_ be interesting.” Tony replied as he took another sip of coffee.

The kid chugged his coffee before he finished the cup and set it down with a tap. “Alright.” He began. “So this was probably earlier this year. I was coming home from school. I had to stay later than usual to help my teacher out with something. Forgot what, but I remember I felt something crawling on my arm.”

Tony walked over to the coffeemaker and just brought the coffee pot with him while he listened to Peter talk.

”So I look down at my arm, expecting to see maybe a hair from a girl, and y’know what’s looking back at me?” Tony poured more coffee into Peter’s cup before setting the coffee pot down on the island.

”It’s this big spider with red and black, but looking back I think it might’ve been blue, anyway, I thought it was a black widow which seriously freaked me out! Then before I even had time to react, this thing sank its fangs into me!” Peter took a sip of his coffee.

”I legitimately thought I was going to die right then, but I managed to calm myself down long enough to stop and think about what had just happened.” Tony leaned against the island. “Most black widow spider’s don’t usually put venom in their bites whenever they bite humans since it’s expensive to produce. Knowing that, I went home and went to bed.”

Tony snorted. “You get bit by what you thought was a black widow at the time, a spider with venom fifteen times more dangerous than a rattlesnake, and decide to go off what you read on the internet and assume it was harmless.” He took another sip of his coffee. “No words, kid.”

Peter smiled. “The next day I get up, thankfully still alive, pretty much forgetting that I got bit by a spider just yesterday and get ready for school. I say bye to May and leave the house. Everything’s normal until I get to walking through the city on my way to school.”

Peter put down his cup and started telling the story with his hands. “So I’m walking across a crosswalk, and there are about ten people near me getting to where they need to be. But then all of a sudden there’s this loud screech, and all of us look to see a car spinning out of control heading right for us. This was like, seriously out of nowhere.” Peter tells him with wide eyes. “Me and everyone panic while we watch this car about to hit us all.”

“Some people fell over each other trying to get out of the way while I’m standing there watching the driver look scared out of his mind. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, and I’m not even thinking whenever I run up to where the car was coming in hot toward us, and brace myself for impact.” Peter said.

He laughed with embarrassment. ”Looking back now, it was a really weird and dangerous thing to do in that situation. A teenager trying to stop a two ton car at highway speeds. A crazy and irrational line of thinking but somehow, I knew I was gonna be okay.” Peter waved his hand in the air as if he was shooing the thought away. “I can’t explain it, but that thought gave me the courage I needed to step up there and try to stop that car.”

The kid took a long sip of coffee and Tony waited patiently for him to continue.

”So long story short, I stopped the car with my bare hands, had tons of eyes staring at me, almost flipped out over what just happened, and ran all the way to school. What was also weird was that I wasn’t even out of breath even though I had to run all that way. Throughout the day I was panicking and did a lot of thinking, pinpointed everything new about me to yesterday whenever the spider bit me, and concluded that it was the spider.” He said with a shrug.

”And that day I saved all those people from that car, it made me feel really good to do something that improved people’s lives. And with these new powers, I realized I was able to give everyone about to be hit by that car a chance to keep living their lives. So I decided I wanted to help and protect people with my new abilities, practiced in my room, and eventually made the web-shooters with a lot of trial and error.”

”The first time I ever decided to trust my web-shooters enough to support me on a building was probably the scariest moment in my entire life.” Peter said as he recalled the memory fondly. “I was on top of this super tall building trying to get over my fear of heights to use the web-shooters, whenever I thought to myself,” _‘hey, how awesome would it be if I just swung to and fro from building to building instead of shooting bad guys from really high up’?”_

“So I got up my courage, and with absolutely no training or prepping before hand, I jumped off and trusted my web-shooters to catch me.” Peter smiled wide. “Everything was great! I was so happy to be up there with my own invention actually working and practically flying! I was swinging and laughing, it was amazing!”

Peter picked up his cup and took a long sip. “Until it wasn’t.” He said looking bashful. “I was ecstatic and honestly not really paying attention to where I was shooting other than just seeing a building in my line of sight and shooting a web-shooter at it. Which is why what happened next taught me to always pay attention.” The kid let out a long, embarrassed sigh.

”I tried to swing off a bird.”

Tony almost choked on his coffee.

”The thing just came out of nowhere!” Peter said incredulously. “One minute I was swinging and the next I’m falling and dragging this poor bird down with me.” Peter shook his head at the thought. “Poor thing tried to fly away while we fell.”

Tony tried to contain the laughter bubbling in his throat, but it boiled over and he completely lost it. His eyes were shut tight and his broken ribs hurt so much from him laughing. He could hear his guffawing ring throughout the silent room and he couldn’t stop it! He could picture Peter falling with this poor, unsuspecting bird in tow. Then after about a minute of that hilarious mental image, using the counter for support and clutching his ribs while he laughed, he somehow managed to stop.

Peter was staring at Tony completely awestruck.

He tried to will his enormous grin down, but fell short. With everything that had happened before this, for weeks on end, the Accords, the Rogues, just everything, he seriously needed to have a good laugh.

Peter recovered from his daze, and he beamed with delight. “Wow! I’ve never heard you laugh, or even seen you smile before, Mr. Stark!” He exclaimed.

Tony cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, don’t get used to it, kid. Pretty sure I just had too much coffee.” His excuse sounded lame even to his own ears.

Peter gave him a knowing look. “Right.” He chuckled. “Anyway, I got me and the bird down, and luckily he wasn’t hurt. I untangled him and he thrashed around until I let him go.” The kid sighed to himself. “Poor dude.”

Tony shook his head and hid a smile behind his mug while he took a sip from it.

Peter finished his cup and indicated the coffee pot. “May I?”

”By all means. And thank you for asking.” Tony said as he watched Peter pour himself another cup.

”Oh, and Mr. Stark? What happened after you sent me back to New York?” He asked him curiously.

Any mirth Tony had was wiped from his face at that question. The kid didn’t mean any harm by it. He didn’t know, but it still felt like a punch to the gut.

Peter must have realized he made a mistake as he straightened up and went back to looking uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me.” He assured him.

The kid shouldn’t have to know what was happening to the Avengers. Peter was still a kid who thought everything always worked out in the end and that the world was full of good. He sighed. “Just more team bonding.” Tony told him. “It really didn’t end well but hey, we’ll fix it.” He said trying to sound convincing.

Peter had bought it. ”Cool.” He said with a nod. “I’m sorry about your team, Mr. Stark. You guys had a disagreement, but you’re awesome! The Avengers know that they upset you and they would want to make things better.”

Tony kept a neutral expression but on the inside he felt completely torn. He really wished he could agree with Peter and hope everything would turn out okay, but that wasn’t realistic, and that wasn’t how things worked. The brutal truth was nothing would get better because the Avengers just _didn’t care._

He could feel all of his thoughts and anger surfacing about why this fight between them had been the result of the build up happening and why this completely fucked everything up for all of them, but he closed his eyes and decided to spare himself the headache. Tony let out a tired sigh and opened his eyes to meet Peter’s. “Let’s hope so, kid.”

Peter looked like he was about to say something, before Tony got off the counter and clapped his hands together. “Hey, you wanna see something?” He asked quickly. “It’s a project I need to finish in the next hour.” He explained as he took his mug and began to walk down the stairs into his workshop.

A second later he heard Peter follow, and just then realized what he was doing. His workshop was his sanctuary. Whenever he’d had Pepper as an assistant, he wouldn’t let her into his workshop for the first five months she worked for him.

Tony paused at that thought and looked back at the kid. Peter immediately halted on the step he was on and looked back at Tony with his mug and the coffee pot in his hands. He stared at the kid silently for a few moments, before his jaw clenched for a second, and he finally spoke. “Don’t mess with anything, don’t take anything, don’t fall on anything.”

Peter nodded quickly. Tony kept his eyes on the kid for a few more heavy seconds, before he turned around and continued down the steps with Peter right behind him. He flipped the switch for the lights in his workshop and the whole room came to life.

”Woah!” The kid exclaimed as they finished their descend down the stairs. Peter looked at him with wide eyes of wonder. “Did you build all of this stuff?” He asked him.

”Sure did.” Tony said as he sipped his coffee and walked over to his project. He was surprised that Peter hadn’t made a comment on how the place was a disaster and was curious why the kid was so impressed by all of the mess.

While Peter was examining Dum-E, Tony turned to his earpiece. “Friday, make sure Peter follows all of the rules I’ve established.” He said in a slightly lower voice.

”Yes, boss.” She replied using the earpiece instead of the workshop. He was grateful that she did that.

”So where’s the project?” Peter asked as he came to stand near him.

”Right here.” Tony said as he indicated Rhodey’s gift.

”Huh. Who are they for?” He asked as he took a sip of the coffee.

”A friend of mine.” Tony said with a clear of his throat. “They’re pretty much finished but I keep thinking there’s something wrong with them.”

Peter stared at the piece for a few seconds, before he set his mug and the cup on a slightly less cluttered spot on the floor, and walked closer to it.

Tony watched as the kid silently examined the project from all angles. Not once asking if he could pick it up or if Tony could rotate it for him. He just moved around it and took care to watch where he was stepping. The kid would never know how much that meant to him.

”It looks to me like your friend would need something to support their footing.” Peter said not once taking his eyes off of the piece.

Tony looked back at the gift. “You think so?”

The kid nodded. “Yeah. The structure looks like it’s meant to completely support someone, but you didn’t put much to keep their feet steady.” He explained. “Maybe adding additional support there would make it completely reliable. Walking, running, standing still, maybe even swimming if it’s waterproof.”

Tony took a step closer and looked at the piece in a whole new light. “Holy shit.” He swore to himself. The kid was right. Tony couldn’t believe he didn’t think to put much on actually keeping Rhodey _balanced._ He was so focused on the details and the way that it looked that he forgot the whole point of his gift.

He looked back to see Peter carefully pouring himself more coffee. “Thanks, kid.” He said genuinely grateful.

Peter smiled at him. “You’re welcome, Mr. Stark.” He said before he drank his coffee.

Tony immediately set to work on the project and was very aware of the kid’s eyes on him in the entire process. He didn’t mind, but his injured hand made the process slower than it should have.

He usually listened to music right now since he worked alone ninety-eight percent of the time, but just the welcome presence of someone else was nice. Peter didn’t ask any questions or talk. He was just content to watch him work. Tony didn’t mind at all as he tinkered away giving the gift more support and made sure to make it still look cool.

Right as soon as he finished tightening the last of the metal, a phone went blaring off.

”Sorry.” Peter told him sheepishly as he set down the coffee pot and answered the phone. “Hey Ned.”

If Tony wanted to, he could ask Friday to tap him into the line and listen to the call. Any other time with anyone else he wouldn’t second guess the thought, but he decided against it since Peter had done nothing but respect him throughout his entire visit. And he didn’t distrust the kid.

”Oh, really?” Peter said quickly. “Got it. I’ll be right there.” He said as he hung up.

”Everything alright?” Tony asked tentatively.

”Yeah, it’s just that I asked Ned to cover for me while I came here and now his mom is starting to wonder where we are.” He said quickly.

” _We?_ ” Tony asked trying to keep the alarm from his voice.

”Oh, Ned’s not here. He’s out somewhere else since we figured his mom would think it’s suspicious we weren’t hanging out together. We said we went to go watch a movie.” He told him. “But I really have to go.” He said as he picked up the coffee pot.

”Here, let me walk you out.” Tony said while he followed Peter up the stairs. He watched as Peter downed the rest of his coffee and set it next to the coffee pot back on the coffee maker. Once he was finished, he headed toward the door.

Tony gave what he was about to do next a few seconds of thought. ”Hey kid.” He called.

Peter immediately halted and turned to Tony.

He picked up the coffee maker, got a bag of his coffee and coffee filters, and handed them all to the kid. “Keep them. Just don’t let your aunt see.” Tony said as he got the door for him.

The kid stared at what he’d been given before looking back at him. “Are you sure, Mr. Stark? Isn’t this your only coffeemaker?”

Tony scoffed. “Please. You really think a billionaire coffee addict only has _one_ coffeemaker?”

At that, Peter smiled brightly. “Thank you, Mr. Stark!” He said gratefully as he made his way over to the parked car in his drive way. He noted how old the car looked.

Tony stayed at the door until he saw Peter get in and drive away. “Friday, remind me to make a coffeemaker. That was the only one I had.”

”Yes, boss.” She said with what he swore was faint amusement.

Tony made his way back down to his workshop. Peter’s visit was actually a very nice surprise. They got to talk, Tony had learned more about the kid, he introduced him to coffee, and in turn Peter told him his superhero origin story and helped him finish Rhodey’s present.

”I think it is nice Peter Parker came to visit you, boss.” Friday said through the workshop’s speakers.

Tony walked over to his friend’s gift and felt himself smile a little.

Now that Peter had helped Tony finish Rhodey’s gift, he needed to actually go see his friend. He sighed and examined the piece. “You think I should wrap these, Friday?”

”I would advise you not to, boss.” She replied.

Tony checked to make sure everything was working how it was supposed to before he exhaled in anticipation. He hoped Rhodey would like them.

”Friday, ready a car.” He said as he wondered if he should make them foldable.

”Of course, boss, however I am reminding you that your Repulsor Tech node is still not fully functional.”

He suddenly halted. “Right. Seriously forgot about that.” Tony said as he grabbed the repair kit he kept for the RTN and went to a mirror.

The process took longer than usual. The main reason being because of his new handicap, but also from Rogers’ heavy blow to it.

Tony watched his eyes widen in the reflection. “Friday, tell me you took that shield with you whenever you went to pick me up.”

”Of course I did, boss.” She said. “It is currently with the Mark 46 suit.”

He visibly relaxed. “Good.” Tony said as he continued to fix the RTN. It was only after he had finished replacing the glass where he actually stopped to think.

Pepper had told him that Friday saved him, and during the conversation he overhead with the two talking, the doctor had mentioned that he talked to a ‘woman who claimed to have saved him.’

Tony had never programmed Friday to make any major decisions like sending a suit without his permission. Even in the event that his life was compromised. “Friday.” He called.

”Yes, boss?” She replied.

He almost didn’t want to even ask. “What protocol did you use whenever you sent a suit to me in Siberia?” Tony asked trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Friday took a second to respond. “Whenever you fought Steve Rogers and asked that I track his movements, I calculated that he would damage the Repulsor Tech node. I asked for your permission to send another suit in the event that I would no longer be available.” She explained.

Tony frowned to himself as he pulled on a clean shirt in the mirror. “Huh. I don’t remember ever doing that.” He said.

”I assume Steve Rogers had your attention during that time, boss.” Friday replied.

He didn’t bother putting the kit back as he made his way back to Rhodey’s gift. Friday was becoming more sassy, much like Jarvis had been, but he liked it. She was also a learning AI, which Jarvis hadn’t been so it wasn’t that hard to believe she saw what Rogers was about to do and asked to take measures to assist.

And if he was being honest, Tony was proud of her for that. If Friday hadn’t come to his rescue, he wouldn’t be here making sure Rhodey and everyone else was taken care of. She had made the right call and he was grateful. “Thanks for saving my life back there, Fri.”

Friday didn’t respond for a few seconds. “Of course.” She said at last. Her tone of voice sounded happy, but he was probably imagining that.

Tony took his project and made his way out of the messy workshop. He was getting tons of phone calls from everyone. Namely Secretary Ross, but he hadn’t answered a single one because seeing his Rhodey was more important.

He decided that driving to the hospital was a better idea than getting there in an Ironman suit since Rhodey was paralyzed because of it. “How is Rhodey’s condition?” Tony asked as he put the gift in the backseat of his car.

“Colonel Rhodes is currently asleep in his hospital room.” Friday informed him.

”And his vitals?” Tony asked as he climbed into his car.

”Stabilized.” She responded.

As he drove through New York, he listened to Friday give him the directions to the hospital and thought back to Rhodey’s fall in Berlin. Right after Rhodey had been rushed to the hospital, he and Ross apprehended the Rogues. If they were all in Wakanda, that would explain why Ross kept calling him every five minutes.

“Friday, when did Rhodey arrive in New York?” He asked her. “The last time I saw him he was being treated at a hospital in Berlin.”

“Turn left here, boss.” She told him. “Colonel Rhodes arrived in New York one hour ago. He has been transferred by his own request with the approval of Ms. Potts, one of his primary contacts.”

”Wait, Rhodey _asked_ to be moved?” Tony questioned. “Does his transfer request say why?” He pulled into a parking space.

”It does not, boss. But my guess would be to see you and Ms. Potts.”

Tony shut off the engine and got out of his car. “What room is he staying in?” He asked as he rounded to the backseat to get his gift.

”Room 616 on the ninth floor.” Friday provided.

”Should I get my sunglasses?” He asked himself as he used his foot to shut the car door. This hospital was more high status than the one he was in. Friday probably wanted to give him medical service as soon as possible and picked the nearest hospital. Here, it might not be as busy and he could possibly attract attention.

”If you are worried about drawing attention,” She voiced. “I think more of the inhabitants would turn their heads if they saw you were wearing sunglasses at night, boss.” She told him. “A man of your status would not be out of place here.”

”Huh. What hospital is this?” He asked as he walked to the entrance carrying his gift.

”We are currently at the New York–Presbyterian Hospital.”

His eyebrows raised. “Well alright then.” Tony murmured as he walked through the doors. This place was evidently more quiet than the other hospital he had been at. Instead of families crying and doctors running, most of the people who were present wore business suits and quietly talked to the doctors.

Tony walked up to a hospital receptionist with his gift in hand. “Hi.” He said to the woman. “I’m here to see James Rhodes.”

The woman smiled pleasantly at him. “I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t take visitors at this hour.”

”Friday, is Rhodey still asleep?” He asked as he continued looking at the receptionist.

”No, boss.” She responded.

”I do believe that is a sign of fate.” Tony said as he directed his focus back to the woman who’s smile now dropped a bit. “Can you call room 616 for James Rhodes? He’s awake by now and I have something that belongs to him.”

The woman’s plastered on smile twitched as she picked up the phone and dialed. “Good evening, Mr. Rhodes.” She said using the name he gave her. “I’m speaking with a Mr...” She trailed off looking back at him.

Tony’s eyebrows shot up. “Stark.” He said incredulously.

She nodded and replied easily into the phone. “Mr. Stark. He claims to have something that belongs to you, sir, and insists on seeing you. Is this urgent?” She asked.

A few seconds for Rhodey’s reply. “Thank you Mr. Rhodes. Have a good night.” She finished before she hung up the phone and smiled at him again. The woman pressed a button that opened a door to the elevators behind her. “Have a good evening, Mr. Stark.”

Tony wasted no time making his was to the elevators. The sooner he got to Rhodey, the better.

“Interesting.” Friday commented. “It is a rarity to encounter people who do not know your name, boss.”

He pressed the button and watched the doors close. “I thought that was odd too.” He remarked. “Then again, she was a younger woman. Just a little older than Peter.”

Tony had noticed since he put Friday online that she was more reserved than Jarvis had been. Jarvis didn’t have a problem talking out of the blue or shooting him snarky remarks. That’s what had made Jarvis charming to him. Friday had adopted a more respectful way of working with him.

But over time, she had slowly began to take to her predecessor in her occasional sass toward him. She wouldn’t speak unless she was spoken to whenever he first gave her commands, but now Friday was beginning to open up to him more and say a comment here and there.

Tony had taken notice of this the more he and Friday interacted. It wasn’t unusual since she was a learning AI, and he honestly liked whenever she would occasionally fill in the silence if it stretched long enough.

The elevator eventually came to a stop and he got out once the doors opened. “Fri, did anyone else besides me and Ms. Potts pay Rhodey a visit?” He asked as he walked down the mostly quiet hallway.

”No one other than his doctor, boss.” She reported.

He didn’t know if any of the Rogues or Ross or anyone dangerous knew where Rhodey was, and he really didn’t want to risk it. “You’re monitoring his room here and there, right?” Tony asked as he stopped in front of Rhodey’s door.

”Yes.” She assured.

Tony breathed a small sigh of relief knowing Rhodey was protected. “Show time.” He said as he carried his gift in his injured hand and opened the door with his other.

”Honey, I’m home!” He called as he walked into the room. The hospital room Rhodey was in was bigger than a standard one and from the looks of it, there was more equipment too.

Rhodey smiled tiredly at Tony whenever he caught sight of him. “Hey Tony.” He croaked out.

Tony could feel his heart crack the second he heard Rhodey’s voice. His friend looked so small surrounded by so much equipment. The sight of him made sinking guilt weigh heavily on him. “I got you something.” He said trying not to think too much.

Rhodey’s smile widened a bit. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Tony made his way over to Rhodey. “Oh, I really did.” He said as he presented his gift. “Tada!”

Rhodey frowned a bit while he looked at his cast. “Tony, what happened to your arm?” He asked now looking at him with concern.

”Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.” He waved off. “You seem a little tired, honeybear. You okay?”

His friend let out a long yawn before replying. “Yeah, I’m good. Just got one hell of a drug dose from the doctor taking care of me. Couldn’t sleep.” 

”Well you go back to resting.” Tony said while he pulled up a chair. “I don’t mind waiting at all.” He set it by Rhodey’s side.

Rhodey let out a snort. “Tony, you hate waiting.” He held down a button to incline his hospital bed. “Besides. I’m up now. Show me my gift.”

He would have argued more, but Rhodey was never the type of person to let something go once his resolve was set. And much like him, his friend liked to get down to business. He sighed. “All right.”

Tony sat down on the hospital chair and offered his gift. “This isn’t the final product. I could always add whatever you want me to since these are yours.”

Rhodey apparently didn’t pay attention to the gift whenever Tony first showed him it, because his friend’s eyes were wide as if seeing the gift for the first time. “Are these...?”

”Leg braces.” He nodded. “So that way you could continue walking.”

His friend stared at them still in shock. “Wow, I just,” He shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.” Rhodey looked up at him with a smile. “Thank you, Tony.”

”Eh.” Tony shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal. Didn’t take me that long to make and I had a little help.” He said as he looked away.

Rhodey laughed. “Shut up and come here.” He said as he brought him into a hug.

He was slack in his friend’s arms before he decided to return the hug. Tony had been so worried and stressed over Rhodey’s condition that being able to simply talk to him had been a blessing in of itself. He was more than happy to see his friend okay after that fall he took and everyone declaring that Rhodey would never walk again.

Now his friend’s life didn’t have to change and he didn’t need to deal with something so devastating. The experience was no doubt traumatic, but Rhodey was a tough man. And Tony would be there for him.

He pulled back first while Rhodey followed suit. “So, what happened while I was out?”

Tony cleared his throat. “Nothing too bad.” He tried to brush off.

He was hoping to ease any worry Rhodey might’ve had, but him acting so nonchalant about the question made his friend tense up. “What happened?” He practically demanded.

Rhodey wasn’t like Pepper. She was used to Tony only telling her broad statements and then leaving it at that. Rhodey was the complete opposite however. If he didn’t tell him the full story, there would be hell to pay.

Whenever he took too long to answer, his friend filled in the silence. “Something happened after the fight, huh?”

Fuck, why did Rhodey catch on so quick?

Tony let out a long, tired sigh. “Let me give you a run down.” He told him. “Basically, Barnes did something fucked up against his will, Rogers pulled a dick move by not telling me a thing or two, I found out something important _involving_ what he chose not to tell me, took it the wrong way and attacked them, they totally kicked my ass, I nearly died from the cold in Siberia, and now I’m all better. The end.”

Rhodey stared at him completely dumbfounded. “Are you fucking joking?”

”Boy, do I wish.” Tony said as he chuckled bitterly.

”Tony, did they hurt you?” Rhodey asked with alarm.

”Yes, but I attacked them first.” He explained. “Rogers could have prevented all of this if he decided to _talk_ to me, but that would have been too easy.”

”I don’t give a shit if you attacked first, Tony! I know you! For the most part, you’re a levelheaded person! For you to lose your shit and attack them means it was something very _very_ serious and personal to you!” Rhodey barked at him.

”Hey, calm down a bit, sour patch.” Tony tried to pacify. “I came here to make sure you were better, not for you to go terminator for me.”

”Tony, this is serious! You just told me you almost died because of them! And where were the rest of the Avengers during this?” He demanded. “As soon as I get out of here, I’m gonna make sure they’re all arrested the next time _any_ of them decides to show their faces!”

”Rhodey, you know you can’t do that.” Tony told him. “Ross isn’t gonna see it that way. We both know that whole retirement thing he threatened the Avengers with is bullshit. He _needs_ them. And despite what they did was shitty, who do you think Ross and the government will side with? One of the guys who caused Ultron, or a team of heroes who stops space aliens?

That didn’t calm Rhodey at all. “How can you be okay with this?” He asked exasperated.

”I’m _not_ okay with this.” Tony told him. “I just know how all of this will go down so I’m telling it like it is. The Avengers will get pardoned and I’ll get pinned for the blame.”

Rhodey shook his head at him. “That’s not right.” He told Tony. “That’s fucked up. I know it, you know it, hell, even they know it!” He scolded. “This isn’t okay. We need to figure out something. You and me. We’re coming up with a plan, we’re presenting it, we’ll get it approved and then we’re cracking it down on those assholes.”

Tony gave Rhodey a weak glare.

”Oh come on, you know I’ve never liked them, Tony. As soon as you told me Nick Fury was involved I knew all of this was gonna go to shit and I even _told_ you to drop out of his sketchy team.” His friend lectured.

”Well what do you plan to do, Rhodey?” He asked. “I’ve got nothing.”

”That’s why I said we come up with a plan!” He said incredulously as he threw his hands in the air. “Look, I am with you no matter what. Whatever you need from me, I’ll do it.” He assured him. “You get to thinking with that big brain of yours, and tell me what I need to do.”

Tony stared at Rhodey. He’s never seen his friend this upset over something. Sure, he’s seen Rhodey disappointed in him like whenever he took War Machine, but to see Rhodey get this angry was something Tony was not used to seeing.

But this showed him his friend had his back despite how little he knew.

Rhodey trusted him.

Tony gave him a smile. “I’ll think of something, honeybear.” He assured. “In the meantime, why don’t you test out your badass legs?”

His friend’s anger sobered a little. He seemed irked that Tony was trying to change the subject, but he allowed it for now. “Alright.” Rhodey nodded. “Show me what these bad boys can do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hats off to you if you get the Marvel reference I threw in there ;)
> 
> Also, this story is going to progress with each new chapter so if it seems slow, it’s because I’m laying out the groundwork before any of the action starts. 
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!


	3. Benevolent Intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sentiments aren’t for everyone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I posted this a few minutes before midnight so it’s not technically late lol
> 
> Alrighty so I want to mention a couple of things as far as updates go. I will try to post a chapter at least once every week with twice being ideal for me, however I may not have the time. I at least want to update multiple times every month spread out so that way this story keeps a flow to it. 
> 
> For the story I’ll tell you now that I’m trying to keep everyone as in character as possible. I don’t want to try and rewrite a character’s whole personality by having them say or do things I couldn’t imagine them saying or doing. But I’m not perfect. For example, you probably won’t see Wanda act like Satan(even though she kind of is) and you won’t see Nick Fury pole dancing.(Unless for good reason lol)
> 
> You probably won’t always agree with some of the things they say or do. This goes for everything from this chapter forward.
> 
> I also want to mention that I’m so grateful for all of the support you guys are giving to me. I read and reply to every comment and I always appreciate your feedback. :) 
> 
> With all of that out of the way, I hope you enjoy chapter 3.

For the next five days, Tony and Rhodey began to fix the damage that had happened after the fight with the Avengers.

The leg braces Tony had made for Rhodey worked perfectly. Thanks to Peter’s help, his friend could do everything he was able to before the fall. 

Tony helped Rhodey get them on and then stood back once he got scolded for trying to act as a crutch. Actually walking took a few tries with a bunch of stubborn retorts of “ _I got it_ ” and “ _I’m not glass damnit_ ” on Rhodey’s part before he could steadily take a step forward.

That wasn’t all either. As soon as Rhodey could walk to the opposite wall and back, he looked at him and sternly told Tony he wanted to leave.

They left the hospital and set to work.

Over the course of the days, Tony had Friday keep updates and surveillance on the Rogues while he thought up ways to deal with them. Rhodey took off to DC in War Machine to talk to the government once Tony fixed it. He had insisted that Rhodey shouldn’t use it for a while, but his friend refused to be treated like a liability.

The only thing he could do was add more functions to ensure Rhodey’s safety whenever he fixed the suit.

Rhodey’s been in Washington since while he gave Tony regular status reports on what was going on, such as the government trying to find the Rogues after, what the media named, ‘Civil War.’

It turns out that Rogers busted out the Rogues from their confinement and then went on the run. They were labeled as fugitives of the law the second they left their internment.

Tony hasn’t told anyone that he knew exactly where the Avengers were hiding. Not even Rhodey because he still didn’t know if handing them over to the government would be the right thing to do in this situation.

Rhodey made it clear exactly where he stood regarding all of the Avengers. He told Tony about hours of meetings discussing how the Rogues could atone for their crimes and how some of the board members were trying to brush the situation under the table. He would tell Tony how he shut down all of their explanations and advocated for all of them to be put on trial and sentenced like any other outlaw.

But while Rhodey was busy dealing with the government, that left Tony to deal with press.

He made sure to be extra careful with his words in interviews and reassured everyone that they were trying to find ways to deal with the Rogues.

It was exhausting and gave him headaches as he dealt with hundreds of questions during the day and brainstormed ideas on how to handle all of this at night. Thousands of faces turning to him for explanations and answers that were too personal to respond to or too painful to think about.

And when the day was finally over where he could go home, he couldn’t rest. Tony wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and sleep but every time he did, his nightmares now had a new addition to them.

The Avengers conspiring to kill him.

Friday kept regular surveillance on them and assured him that what he’d been waking up in terror over wasn’t the case at all, but no matter how many times she told and showed him, those nightmares wouldn’t stop haunting him.

Friday told him on several different occasions that Tony’s attacks were happening more frequently and that his stress was through the roof.

And aside from the catastrophe that was created after Civil War, there was also his personal life.

Pepper had made sure to make due on her promise by calling him everyday, but they haven’t met again since his day in the hospital. He didn’t know where they were at in their relationship, earning a _”We’ll talk about that soon,”_ anytime he brought it up, but at least they were on speaking terms. She asked him how things were and he returned the gesture. They talked small talk every time she called and eventually ended up in tense silence before one of them would make up an excuse and hang up.

Peter was calling him often too. Sometime during the week, he got a call from a number he had assumed was Nick Fury only to answer it and hear Peter’s upbeat voice filter through his phone. The kid explained he got his phone number from Happy once again giving Peter his private information. But the kid calling had saved him from almost destroying something in his workshop whenever the stress of it all was almost too much. Tony’s mood always improved whenever Peter called.

Still no word from Happy.

The Avengers still haven’t tried to make any contact with him. They had two main ways of communicating with him. His phone and video calling. Instead of talking to the world from where they were, all of them left him and Rhodey to clean up this huge mess. They didn’t attempt to say anything for themselves.

Tony didn’t want to see or talk to them, but what else could he do? Whether he liked it or not, they had all been called a team at one point and the world still saw them as such. Rogers and the Rogues were seen as criminals, and after what they did, they had dragged him down with them.

The only reason he wasn’t calling them was because he was one of the ones not yet advocating for them to be thrown in prison. The least they could do was be the first one to talk to him.

During all of his interviews and conferences, and even walking down the street, he would get threats and curses and people blaming him for the Rogues’ mistakes. He had said that he supported the Accords but no one cared about his opinion. All they saw were the actions that the Rogues had caused and pulled him into the same category because he was a teammate of the Avengers.

Now half the world blamed Tony for their fear and the Rogue Avengers’ mistakes because he was the only one the public saw.

The Accords was something that all of them were still sore about, but Tony was willing to try and sort this out with them despite every shitty thing they did to him.

But not a single word from anyone on his team.

“How can we ensure our country is safe from these enhanced individuals now against the law?” 

A sea of ticking cameras and curious faces were all pointing right at Tony. His eyes scanned the murmuring crowd to land on the person who asked the question.

That exact same question was being thrown to him every day of this week. It was just phrased in over twenty different ways. He was getting so sick of having to answer it over and over. “That’s not a question for me to answer. Take it up with the government.”

“Has the government given you any intel at this point in time?” A man near the front of the crowd asked.

”Stupid question. Even if they did, what makes you think I could or would tell you without getting thrown in prison for giving away confidential information?” Tony chided.

At that, the quiet chattering then turned into loud questions at him. “These are dangerous individuals.” A woman’s voice cut through. “How can we possibly say they aren’t a threat if they won’t abide by our laws?”

The chattering died down again while he got a good look at the woman. Christine Everhart.

Tony met her hostile gaze at him. “They don’t want world domination.”

”Do you expect us to take your word for it?” She challenged. “For all we know, you’re still working with the fugitives.”

Tony smirked at Christine’s antagonizing tone. “What could I possibly hope to gain from that?” He asked. “We had a fight that kind of made us on not-speaking-terms.”

”Funny you should say that.” Christine simpered. “You keep referring to the Avengers as ‘they.’ That leads me to believe that they’re all still together somewhere as a team,” She gave him a mocking look. “And they left you.”

The quiet talking halted all together. Everyone was silently staring at him, waiting for what he would say to that. This woman was trying to draw a reaction out of him. And from that smug look on her face, she knew she hit the nail on the head.

Too bad for her, Tony had already come to terms in these last few days that the Avengers did indeed abandon him. It sucked to face that fact, but he would never give Christine the satisfaction of knowing she hit a sore spot on him.

Tony looked her right in the eye and met her contempt with his billionaire smile. “Well it’s a good thing you don’t get paid to draw conclusions. I can’t imagine reading an article written by you, detailing how you were ‘lead to believe’ something from whatever vainglorious, half-witted idea that popped from that blonde head of yours.”

Christine’s boasting look immediately dropped into an insulted stare at him.

Tony turned his eyes to the crowd as a whole and gave them all an exaggerated grin. He leaned into the microphones. “No more questions.”

He turned his back and heard the crowd erupt into a chaos of questions and accusations while he disappeared behind the curtains.

Tony’s cast and his anger led to him roughly peeling off the jacket of his three piece suit while he stalked down the hallway of Stark Industries. He may have had his camera time cut by half ever since he gave Pepper the name of CEO, but he was still a big face of his company. And unfortunately for him, he still needed to advertise that he wasn’t a part of the Rogues and that the business wasn’t aiding them.

But every time he showed up to talk about his _company_ and defend any accusations made against it, all any of them wanted to hassle him with questions and see if they could make him give them something.

He threw his jacket into his car as he got in and wasted no time getting the hell away from a crowd of people running towards him.

Tony heard his phone go off while he was driving and saw it was Rhodey calling him. No doubt to talk about what had just happened on about eleven different news stations.

Rhodey never called to talk about the government’s updates with the Rogues until later in the day. Tony let out a frustrated sigh as he reached over and silenced the ringer before he turned back to the red light he was at.

Rhodey would tell him that Christine was just being a bitch again and then shift the conversation to accusations about his ‘lack of action’ and ‘misplaced protection’ over dealing with the Rogues.

Tony kept driving and watched the phone screen light up a few more times from the corner of his eye. He would talk to Rhodey whenever he gave him updates later in the day.

He parked his car whenever he reached his house and didn’t bother to take anything with him whenever he went inside.

There was no doubt his vitals were above normal, but Friday’s silence was all he could ask for. He just wanted to be alone right now.

As far as actually dealing with the Rogues, Peter and Pepper both believed that Tony and the Avengers could somehow work it out and become a team again.

And Rhodey proposed that he should go to the government and take legal action by sending the Avengers into a trial and charging them fines for the damage they had caused.

Tony still hasn’t come to a decision on what he should do. Rhodey’s seemed obvious, but the government would most likely pardon every crime they did, and he would probably end up being the one to pay the fines. He had the money for it, but the fact that he would need to be the one to _literally_ pay for their mistakes pissed him off to no end.

Some part of him hoped that he didn’t need to throw them under the bus like they had done to him. That maybe Tony could believe Peter whenever he said the Avengers knew they hurt him and would want to fix it. That small hope kept him from completely fucking them over.

Once he cooled down from that encounter with Rogers and Barnes, he decided the best thing to do was see what approach the Avengers would take whenever they eventually did contact him.

Tony tossed his car keys on the counter in his kitchen and leaned against it. He didn’t do anything for a few seconds. He just stared at the wall in front of him and appreciated the silence.

The intense anger he felt back at Stark Industries was finally beginning to subside. He loosened his tie which honestly didn’t make him feel any less confined.

Tony was supposed to be talking to that crowd for two more hours. But after Christine and her attitude towards him he didn’t want to go anywhere else today. Any other point in time and she wouldn’t have gotten to him as much as she had. But with the news and press chipping away at him for the past week, her vicious words at him had been what did it.

“Ms. Potts is approaching the building, boss.” Friday warned.

He startled at her voice suddenly filling in the silent house. Pepper dropping by wasn’t the most shocking of things right now. She was still technically his girlfriend, and he did just leave whenever he agreed he would be the spokesperson. What was surprising was the fact that she was dropping by to see him at all.

Tony got off the island and made his way to the front door right as soon as the doorbell rang. He opened it to see Pepper standing before him.

She gave a tight lipped smile. “Hello.”

”Hi.” He replied as he opened the door wider for her.

Pepper wordlessly walked in as he closed the door.

“I see Christine set you off.” She remarked as he closed the door. “You shouldn’t let it bother you so much. That’s not the first time she pulled something like that off.”

“Yeah.” He said as he walked with her to the living room.

He took a seat on his couch as Pepper walked to a stopped before him. “We need to talk.” Her voice echoed.

Tony knew that tone. It was the one Pepper used whenever she had something important on her mind. And from how tense she was he was certain it wasn’t about him suddenly leaving back there.

Whenever she stayed where she was, he pat the spot right next to him.

Pepper sighed as she walked over to him, flattened her skirt, and took a seat. “I’ve been thinking a lot about our relationship.” She began quietly. “I’ve seen how busy you’ve been with everything lately. Seeing you so caught up with all of this made me think back to whenever we fought, and I realized that you never really had any time on your hands. For me or yourself.”

She looked away from him. “Sometimes you make me feel like you don’t care about this relationship. I’m always the one who has to talk or pry or drag something out of you. You never ask about how I am or how my day is. You never call or text me. Nothing. I’m the one who has to do it.” Pepper said.

“I remember you once destroyed your suits for me. And at the time it made me think: ‘ _Finally, something to show that I matter to him._ ’ But then you went and made more suits.” She turned to him. “What was the point of that if it didn’t mean anything?”

Tony felt offended at that. ”It did mean something.” He said trying not to sound irked by her remark. “I did that to show you that I was willing to give up something for you.” He told her. “Something that holds value to me.”

She smiled barely. “I thought the same thing at the time too.” Pepper said. “But now that I think about it, that demonstration showed me that you’re willing to destroy a part of who you are to make me happy.”

His jaw clenched and he shook his head. “Pepper, you know that’s not true.”

”Would you give up Ironman for me, Tony?” Her voice echoed. “If I asked you to settle down with me and never be Ironman again, would you do that for me?”

The house was even quieter than before. Every moment that passed between them weighed more heavily than the last. Pepper was waiting for a response, and Tony couldn’t give her one.

Pepper’s smile was a sad one. “No.” She said softly. “You couldn’t.”

Tony felt her words suffocate him. He could actually see the understanding in her eyes. Tony wanted to tell her that he was willing to give up Ironman and start a domestic life with her if she asked him. They could get married and have children and be happy together. Tony wanted to assure her that that’s what he wanted.

But both of them knew those words would be lies.

”I want stability.” She began. “I need communication and trust. I want to come home to someone I love and feel safe. I want to feel wanted and happy and loved.” Pepper’s small smile dropped a little more. “That’s the life I want. And that’s a life I don’t, and could never have, if I’m with you, Tony.”

His chest ached. Pepper’s words cut him like a knife because they rang with too much accuracy. She was right. And they stung so much because both of them knew that it was the unblemished truth.

Tony felt like he was being gripped in a tight fist. It sucked to hear how much Pepper understood. She knew his lifestyle and she could see that it was something he could never give up.

He’s never been able to tell her what he thought or why he did what he did. He’s never been open with her. He couldn’t bring himself to be. Tony had let her down and kept Pepper in the dark so many times and he always expected her to go with it.

Pepper knew for certain that Ironman was a part of his life because Ironman was a part of who Tony was.

And what was the worst part about all of this was that she wasn’t even mad at him. For anything. Pepper wasn’t upset at him for the times he told her he would eventually give up the suit. That he would leave the life of being Ironman every time she asked during their time as a happy couple. He lied to her with every reassurance he gave her.

He wouldn’t have said any of that if he didn’t believe it was true at some point. Tony thought he could do that for her. He wanted to believe he himself could leave this type of life at any time if he wanted.

But that wasn’t what he wanted.

Tony thought he loved Pepper enough to give her that.

But now that she had finally asked him, they both knew that he never could. He wished she was crying or screaming at him for everything he put her through. It would be so much easier than her sympathetic acceptance of all of this.

She didn’t understand him as a person, and she could never give Tony what he needed. But one thing she knew for a fact was that he couldn’t settle down. It just wasn’t who he was. And that much was enough for Pepper to know.

She placed a hand on his lap. “I care about you.” She said whenever the silence stretched on too long. “But in this type of relationship, you and I destroy each other. We’re just two very different people.” Pepper shook her head at him. “This could never work.”

Tony swallowed the lump in his throat.

”I’m still here for you.” She assured. “And I hope I always will be.”

His jaw clenched and he looked away from her.

Pepper’s smile brightened a little bit before she leaned in and kissed his cheek. “This is for the best.” She assured him.

Tony absolutely refused to meet her eyes. He couldn’t look at her.

She seemed to understand this. “I’ll take my leave now.” Pepper said as she pulled away from him. “You need time alone and I have to get back to the company. I had to bring this up now for the sake of both of us. I couldn’t keep leading you on and giving you false hope. It was now or never.”

He didn’t move whenever she stood up or watch her as she walked away. Tony could hear Pepper’s shoes clicking against the floor as she made her way to the front door.

“Take care of yourself.” Pepper didn’t raise her voice. The sound just carried itself through the house right to him.

He heard the door open, then close, and then he was alone.

Tony slowly closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands. He didn’t cry at the fact that Pepper had just dumped him. He almost wished that was how he reacted. He could cry his eyes out and then take a deep breath and maybe get to work or call Rhodey. It would have been a mercy if he just reacted like a normal person. A _human being._

But he couldn’t do that for Pepper.

He couldn’t shed even a tear for her because he was so pissed off at himself. She was right: both of them were just two completely different people. They could never work.

Tony just ended their relationship.

He had caused all of this. Pepper had made so many sacrifices and put up with so much of what he’d done that it all snowballed to this inevitable end. He was a polar opposite to her. Of course this would happen.

Tony couldn’t get enough air. His lungs felt like they were being squeezed and his heart was pounding in his ears. He swallowed the lump in his throat and felt his teeth clench together. 

”Boss?” Came the tentative voice of Friday.

Tony rubbed his face in his hands. The cast against his face felt rough and jagged and it hurt, but that didn’t stop him. He eventually did look up. “Yeah?”

”Is there anything I may do to assist?” Her voice seemed gentler than normal.

He sucked in a deep breath and stood up. “Nope.”

Tony began to unbutton his shirt while he walked to his room. He got it off his shoulders and practically ripped it off where it was stuck at his cast. He threw off his pants before throwing on a tank top and basketball shorts.

”Boss, I detect extremely high stress levels.” Friday warned while he got on his bed to tie his shoes. His ribs still hurt a lot whenever he bent down to tie them, but anger outweighed his judgement.

Tony stood up and walked over to his bed stand. “You are upset right now. Please calm down and think.” Friday urged as he wrapped his good hand in his boxing wraps.

He stormed out of the room as soon as he was finished. Tony could hear Friday telling him to ‘think’ and talking about ‘concern’ and ‘healing,’ but it all blurred together as he made his way into his training room.

”Boss, your injurie—“

He took out his earpiece and tossed it on the ground while he put a boxing glove on his good hand, and managed to put the other on the one with the cast.

Tony faced the boxing bag hanging, and attacked it with everything he had. His ribs shot with pain and he kept using his injured arm to punch the bag in front of him. Every movement of his body caused sharp pain and every hit he landed on the bag with his bad arm caused it to ache. But he just couldn’t bring himself to care.

Friday had talked him out of boxing for the last few days because of the injuries he had, but anything that would have stopped him yesterday would fall on deaf ears now.

He hit and punched the bag in front of him, and eventually the pain of his injuries faded as the adrenaline took over.

Tony hit the bag in a frenzy for what could have been seconds or hours, with each hit the pain of Pepper’s visit became more bearable. Every thought he could think up disappeared with each and every punch. Somehow, each shallow breath he took helped him lose himself from reality.

He could kid himself long enough into thinking of how he felt in the moment.

But eventually that illusion shattered whenever a hand on his next impending punch forced his fist to halt. 

”That is enough.” The owner of the hand told him.

Tony’s heart was pounding, and all of that work he put into hitting the bag made his breathing turn heavy. He stood up straight and roughly tugged his fist from the hand. He met the eyes of the voice.

Vision met his gaze with that neutral expression he always had.

Tony’s breathing elevated a little. “What are you doing here?” He asked harshly as he ripped off his boxing gloves and threw them to the other side of the room.

Vision’s eyes went to his cast, then to his shirt, and met his eyes again. “I received a plea.” He replied.

He had to take a few seconds to think of who the AI could be referring to. “Friday.” Tony realized.

”I understand you are recovering from pain.” Vision looked slightly confused. “Why are you knowingly making it worse?”

”Why do you wanna know?” He snapped. “I haven’t seen you show your face to me, or talk to me since I saw you shoot Rhodey down.”

Vision took a few seconds to let Tony calm down a bit before he answered. “That is why I kept out of contact with you. I imagined you did not wish to see me.”

Tony shook his head at him and began to storm his way to the enterence of the room.

“I am not here for my own benefit.” 

He halted in his steps and turned around with anger. “Oh please. Don’t pretend like you care.” Tony said harshly. “You’re a machine who doesn’t have the empathy to understand.”

Vision’s features morphed into annoyance. “I understand you are troubled. I bear no offense because I know you do not mean it.” His voiced raised firmly. “But I will not stand for your harmful words toward another because of knowledge you fail to recognize.”

The anger Tony felt halted as he tried to make sense of that. “What are you talking about?”

The AI didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Almost as if he was waiting for something. “It is not my place to speak.” He said calmer. “But do not knowingly use your words to hurt because you are hurt. Especially because you never know who you may unintentionally hurt.”

Vision’s voice softened again. “As much as you wish to believe in comfort over facts, I exist only because of the feelings of a machine.”

Tony could feel his injuries again now that the adrenaline was wearing off of him. He was wounded and furious. And he knew he was being unfair.

He forced himself to calm down and think about the AI in front of him. Here he was lecturing about empathy and right now he wasn’t even attempting to show any. Tony took in a deep breath, forced down his ego, and decided to try and fix the situation.

“You’re right.” He admitted with a stiff nod. He didn’t like admitting when he was wrong, but right now was a rare case. Tony lost a deep relationship with Pepper already. He didn’t want to lose another one in the same day.

And on Vision’s part, as much as he wanted to believe Ultron didn’t actually have emotions, that would just be him lying to himself for comfort.

The AI’s expression softened again at Tony’s words. “You may be right about my ‘caring’ toward you.” He said as he approached him. “I have not existed for long. I do not yet recognize my own emotions because they are still a new concept for me. But I know for certain that I came here out of fear.”

”Fear?” Tony asked.

Vision nodded. “Fear for your wellbeing.”

Tony wanted to hit himself for that one. Guilt fell over him for being such an asshole.

Unlike everyone else he knew, Vision said exactly how he thought or felt about things. Everything he said was with absolute truth. It was endearing in some ways. Like whenever Vision told Wanda that he found her “pulchritudinous.” But it also got him into trouble. Tony remembered the time Vision called Thor a “simpleton” after he fell for a joke Bruce decided to tell. It was so unexpected from Vision to say something like that, that Tony laughed and occasionally teased Thor about it.

He would usually earn a dirty look from the god and get called an _addle pate._ Whatever that meant.

He sighed and made himself think about humility. “Sorry.” Tony said with difficulty. Vision just caught him at the wrong time where his pride had just been stomped to bits and he was very much still wounded and angry. “I didn’t mean it.”

Vision’s intense staring didn’t cease. “Would you wish to share your troubles?” He asked.

Tony took a second to think. Him and Rhodey were taking care of the Avengers so Vision didn’t need to know about that, but he did snap at and insult the AI. “You wouldn’t want to hear about it.” He told him.

”On the contrary.” Vision assured him. “Emotions are complex and I have much to learn. Perhaps if you confide in me, we will both benefit.”

“Well when you put it like that...” He began as he looked off to the side. He mulled over the idea for a few seconds until he came to a compromise. “Alright. I’ll just say the gist of what happened. I’m telling you now that I’m keeping it short and simple. I’m shit whenever it comes to talking about things like this.” He warned.

Vision waited patiently.

Tony walked over to a workout bench and sat down. “My girlfriend broke up with me.”

Vision looked confused again. “Your girl friend?” He asked. “Why must her gender be specified? Is this difference important among friends?”

”Wrong word.” Tony muttered to himself. He turned back to Vision. “Okay, um,” he thought about how to explain this. “A girlfriend is different than just a ‘friend.’ You don’t do physical things with friends like kiss and and have sex. With a girlfriend you do.” He explained.

Vision nodded. “To reproduce.” He said.

Tony gave him an iffy expression. “Not necessarily.” He said. “That’s only one aspect. There are couples who’re together who can’t or won’t have kids.”

Now Vision looked puzzled. “Why?” He asked genuinely confused.

”Well,” Tony took a second to consider his response. “You choose to be with someone like a girlfriend for sexual feelings, and romantic ones.” He explained. “It doesn’t have to be both either.”

“You care about that person and you want to spend your time with them to make them happy and just be in their life. Like a friend would, except you bond and share yourself with this one particular person in a stronger way than a friend.” Tony shook his head at how sappy that sounded.

He wouldn’t have explained it like that to literally anyone else but with Vision, if you didn't give specific details to the AI, asking him to start a fire without telling him what a fireplace was would mean he would set the house ablaze.

That almost happened whenever they had one of their cooking lessons.

Vision didn’t look as confused. “I see.” He said. “But if that is the case, how are there couples who cannot reproduce?” He asked Tony. “Males and females are made to procreate. I understand some may not wish to, but how can they not because of biology?”

”Well some are infertile, and others are a same-sex couple.” He explained.

Vision looked puzzled again. “Do you mean a male and a male or a female and a female?

“Yeah.” Tony said with a nod. “The exact same thing I explained, except with a same-sex partner.” He took a second before adding to that. “Minus the ‘reproducing’ part.”

The AI slowly nodded as he processed all of this new information. “I still have much to learn.” He said to himself.

Tony thought back to his former relationship with Pepper. “Yeah, humans are complicated.” He said bitterly.

”I am assuming the female term is a ‘girlfriend’.” Vision said slowly. “So what is the male counterpart in an opposite-sex or a male and male relationship?” He asked.

”Boyfriend.” Tony said simply.

Vision nodded more. “I understand.” He told him. “Who was your girlfriend?”

Tony sighed heavily. “Her name was Pepper.”

”Why were you with her?” He asked.

”I liked her.” He shrugged.

The AI looked curious. “Why?”

Tony ran his good hand through his damp hair whenever his chest felt constructed again. “I was attracted to her.” He meant to sound a little fond saying it, but it came off like he was admitting to a crime. “I liked her looks and personality and I wanted to know more about her. She was someone I worked with on a day to day basis, but I wanted her.”

Vision stayed silent for a while. Tony assumed he was trying to make sense of all of this whenever he finally spoke. “Why are you and ‘Pepper’ no longer together?” He asked.

Tony shook his head incredulously at all of the answers to that. “Geez, don’t even get me started. So much happened.” He broke eye contact and felt his teeth clench. “I guess the main reason was because her and I just aren’t compatible.”

The AI once again didn’t say anything for a while. “You were attracted to her?” He asked.

”Yeah.” Tony said with a stiff nod. “But the two of us are really strained right now. Wounds are still fresh and feelings are easy to hurt.” _But I still care about her._

Vision stared off into space for a few seconds. “I feel that Wanda might be my girlfriend.”

Tony let out a snort. “Nope. Not how it works.” He shook his head. “I had my suspicions, and you just confirmed them. You and Wanda aren't in a mutual intimate relationship. She’s a friend or person you have feelings for. Basically the inbetween of a girlfriend and any other person.” He explained. “She’s your crush.”

The AI opened his mouth to say something.

”Not literally crush. It’s just the word we use for what you have.” Tony told him.

Vision looked conflicted. “What a peculiar word to use.” He mused aloud.

“I didn’t come up with it.” He said. “Wanda won’t be anything more than your crush unless you tell her you want to make her your girlfriend. If she says yes, you’re in a partnership, and if she says no, that sucks and you guys stay as friends.”

”That would be regrettable.” Vision said softly as he stared off again. “How will I know if Wanda shares my feelings?” He asked.

”You won’t.” Tony said. “You’ll never know unless you hear it from her yourself.”

Vision nodded and finally had his focus on him again. “Thank you, Anthony.” He said. “I have learned a great deal of valuable information from you.”

Tony frowned. “You’re welcome just, don’t call me that.” He told him. “Call me Tony.”

”Forgive me.” He said. “Tony. Thank you.”

”Any time, buddy. Got anything else you wanna know?” Tony asked him.

”Yes.” The AI replied. “Going back to our previous discussion of ‘couples,’ why do some prefer a certain sex over another?”

”Sexuality.” Tony said. “But that’s a whole other can of worms. Just look it up on the internet, but the two main ones are straight, meaning you like the sex opposite of you, and gay, meaning you like the same sex as you.”

Vision slowly nodded. “Then,” He began as he watched him carefully. “You are straight.” He tested.

”Partially, yes.” Tony replied.

The AI now looked like any understanding he might’ve had was just tossed out the window at those words.

”Alright I don’t wanna break you, Vision. That’s enough talk of relationships for one day. What’s been new with you?” Tony asked seriously. “Friday says you haven’t left the compound at all.”

Vision schooled his features back to neutral as he met his eyes again. “Yes. I have not stepped foot outside of that building until today.” He began. “After I immobilized the suit of James, I felt,” The AI took a second to think of a word. “Strongly upset with myself.”

”I felt I did not deserve to face you again.” He told him. “I have not seen Wanda either. I feel I cannot see her until you chose to see me, and until I understand why her presence that day distracted me.”

Tony stared at Vision for a few quiet seconds. He didn’t like Wanda. Not in the slightest. He didn’t like her attitude towards him, her reckless behavior, or her messing with his mind. She had used Vision to escape Tony’s protection for her and side with the Rogues. Then she was part of the cause for Rhodey’s fall.

He hated trusting people. But he was a believer in second chances. However in Wanda’s case, he didn’t just give her a second chance. He gave her more than one free pass and she still spat in his face.

By now Tony could feel the damage of what he had done to both of his wounds. They stung and felt like someone was bending his wrist backwards without mercy while they twisted a knife in his ribs. It didn’t help that his anger from earlier was starting to come back.

He sighed in frustration as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his good hand. “Why Wanda?”

The AI could clearly see his annoyance. “I myself do not know.” He confessed. “But with her, perhaps because of the Mind Stone, I feel...” Vision thought about it. “We share a mutual understanding. A connection of sorts.”

Tony shook his head and looked away from Vision.

”But as I said, I have yet to see her.” Vision reminded. “Ultimately, I feel I must atone for the pain I have caused you and James.”

He still didn’t meet the eyes of the AI. “Rhodey’s fine.” He dismissed. “You don’t need my approval to go see your crush or whatever she is to you.” Tony said with a wave of his hand.

“You do not like Wanda.” Vision noted curiously.

Finally Tony faced him. “Yeah, no shit I don’t like her. That’s why it’s a bad idea for you to leave your punishment in my hands. I’m not a forgiving person to people I don’t feel deserve it.” He barked at him.

That’s why he butted heads with everyone who worked with him. They didn’t like him just because of his snarky comments or nicknames, they didn’t like him because he wasn’t afraid to say whenever he knew he was right, and he didn’t kiss anyone’s ass or spare their feelings by feeding them comforting lies. 

He cared about Vision. And that’s why he was telling the AI the truth. Tony didn’t like Wanda and he wasn’t going to pretend to.

Vision’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. “I am on your side.” He assured him. “Wanda is a criminal along with the rest of the Avengers. I cannot overlook the fact that we all chose sides, and hers rests on the other side of the law. My decision was to side with you.”

”So you’re telling me that you won’t go see her anyway?” Tony asked with a raised eyebrow.

”Correct.” Vision nodded. “I wished to discuss this with you when you decided on your own will to talk to me, but Friday urged me to put a stop to your activities.” His intense gaze softened a little. “I had no choice.”

”Wait a minute, you thought I didn’t wanna see you because of what happened with Rhodey and you didn’t visit me until now because there wasn’t any other choice?” Tony asked.

”Yes.” The AI agreed.

Tony leaned back a little surprised. Out of everyone, the most considerate and least selfish person on the team was a robot who’s only been alive for a little over two years.

Vision was punishing himself and staying away from him because he felt guilty about what happened.

”Also.” Vision continued. “There will never be an appropriate time to bring this up, so I will speak about it now.” The AI carefully watched him. “A letter arrived at the Avengers compound the day after we all fought each other. It was addressed to you.”

He straightened up which caused the pain in his ribs to protest the movement. “What did it say?” Tony asked.

The AI took a moment, before he turned around and went through the wall behind him only to come back with a letter in his hand.

“I did not read it.” Vision said to him. “But I do not wish to be here when you choose to view it’s contents.” He said as he offered it to him.

Tony clenched his jaw as he eyed the letter. “Just leave it on the ground.” He told him.

*He had a thing about being handed things.

Vision wordlessly let the letter fall to the ground. “For the future I would highly recommend you let your injuries heal.” He told him. “There are those of us who fear the actions you choose.”

Tony said nothing as he watched the AI nod before leaving back through the wall.

He took a few moments to stare at the letter on the ground, before he walked over to it. He winced a bit as he knelt down to pick it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun
> 
> *In the Ironman movies Tony always tells people he doesn’t like to be handed things? Never understood why, but I might’ve missed his reasoning. I always thought it was because of his trust issues but I could be wrong. If any of you know, can you tell me? I’m curious lol


	4. Bad Ramifications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revelation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday was MCU Peter’s birthday! 
> 
> So I just wanted to say that I was pleasantly surprised to see that some of you showed interest in Vision and him needing a new gal to replace Wanda. I really like this idea and I’m deciding on whether or not to have him end up with someone. 
> 
> I’m also happy to announce that this could definitely work! It was surprising to find how well this idea fit whenever I went over it in my notes! It also wouldn’t affect the story if he wasn’t with anyone. 
> 
> So if any of you like the idea and have a character you could see paired with Vision, I would really like to know so I could consider putting this in with the story. If you don’t like the idea of Vision with anybody and would rather him be with no one or even a close friend, I am all for it!

For the next two days, Tony decides to completely shut out the media, and turn all of his attention to the Avengers.

Vision delivering him that letter had made him reconsider a few things about his former team. If he was being honest, Tony never would have imagined they would send him something after they decided to turn against him and flee.

He couldn’t yet bring himself to actually open the letter to read what it had to say, but he already knew who it was from.

Friday had reported that his boxing activities didn’t hinder his healing process too much. She had said they may take an extra few days at most, but his broken bones didn’t seem to agree.

Along with her reports and update statuses for everything, Friday seemed to be more quiet which was odd for her. He couldn’t explain it because Friday still talked to him normally and still followed his orders fine. But he could tell something wasn’t right.

Things were tense with them. Like they were in a fight.

Along with fights, Pepper now texted him or sent him emails to keep up to date with how he was doing, which Tony didn’t mind one bit. Their breakup had done a number on both of them so he knew they wouldn’t be talking to each other for a while.

Peter had called him yesterday and told him about all of the things happening in New York. Peter asked him if he saw the news to which Tony replied no. Peter was appalled and told him about the dead bodies turning up all over New York after being murdered and left in shreds on the streets. He would have to look into all of that later.

Rhodey was still in Washington talking to everyone with badges and keeping Secretary Ross at bay. Tony had told Rhodey that he seriously didn’t want to talk to that guy just yet.

Dealing with the Rogues and then adding Ross on top of that would literally put Tony in an early grave. He told himself and Rhodey that he wanted to figure out where he and the Avengers stood before making any sort of contact with the government.

Which was why he was holding off on reading the letter.

Vision’s visit to Tony made him realize that his team wasn’t completely heartless. And that was scary to him. If he had any sort of order with dealing with the Rogues, it was gone the moment he heard that letter addressed to him existed.

Because now that meant he had to figure out who was like Vision, and who he had been right about all along.

Tony really didn’t want to read that letter. He was very curious about what it said, but he didn’t want to find out. That thing was Pandora’s box for a few different reasons. If he read it and didn’t like what it said, he’d do something rash and fuck something up. If he read it and did like it, that meant his mind would think up a way to make this entire situation seem like his fault which for once was _not the case._

This time they were the ones who fucked up by splitting themselves and deciding not to listen to his reasons for siding with the government. He had an entire plan figured out and they didn’t want to listen to it. They got themselves labeled as fugitives. Not him.

Not to mention Rogers and Barnes and the stunt they pulled on him.

Tony could hear classical music playing in the background which caused him to look up from his thoughts.

Friday had started doing that ever since Vision came to visit him the other day. Any time Tony got a little too lost in his thoughts and started freaking himself out, she would play classical music.

And oddly enough, it always worked. A new song each time she put something on. Tony hasn’t asked Friday why she started doing that and she hasn’t given him an explanation as to why.

But as soon as Tony was back in reality, the music faded back out, and it was quiet once again.

He sighed and sipped from the now cold cup of coffee he poured over an hour ago. He was back at his dining room table writing nothing but notes on papers. A list of pros and cons he started to try and help him with his ultimate decision and planning.

He knew whatever he wrote would change his dynamic with his team. Either he forgives them and fights on their side again or he decides to go with Rhodey’s plan and ‘give them what they deserve.’

Tony tried to remain as unbiased as possible and strictly list the facts of team dynamic over the years. Behaviors, actions, relationships, their worth, how they talked about him, how they talked _to_ him, yeah, he tried.

”You have an incoming call from Happy.” Came Friday’s voice.

”Mm.” He put down his cup. “Answer it.” Tony said as the screen a few feet away from the table now showed Happy’s caller ID.

”Hello?” Came the familiar voice of Happy Hogan.

”So you are alive.” Tony remarked. “How’ve you been?”

 _”Me_?” The voice asked incredulously. “How the hell have you been? I’ve seen nothing but your face plastered on my feed for the past week!”

”I know. Isn’t it nice to see me everywhere you go?” He teased. “Can’t say the same for you on my part though, Hap.”

A sigh on the other end. “Yeah I’m sorry about not being able to talk.” Happy said sincerely. “Things have been going on like you won’t believe! I couldn’t even go see Rhodey in the hospital a few days ago! These two police officers told me I couldn’t be near you. Apparently that also applied to Rhodey.”

Now Tony was confused. “What?”

”I think they were actually agents undercover, since it’s my job as a professionally trained body guard to see through disguises, but these guys told me I was a suspect for being some kind of ‘double agent’.” He told him.

”A double agent?” He repeated now puzzled.

”Right?” Happy asked. “I was confused too, but these guys said that I was a prime suspect for working with someone who’s a criminal mastermind! This guy they were telling me about has all these agents buried in all kinds of different organizations and they thought I was one of them.”

Only one person with that description came to mind, except for the criminal part. “Did the men in black tell you who the guy was?” Tony asked.

”No.” Happy told him. “They just said I was clear after about a week of background checks and questioning. So as soon as they gave me the okay, I decided to call you.”

”They wouldn’t let you talk to me?” He asked him. “Specifically me?”

”Yeah. Odd, right? I was able to see anybody in the world except for you and Rhodey. Whenever they told me that, I caught on fast that they were more than just police officers.” Happy stayed silent for a few beats. “Hey, you free right now? Pepper’s in a meeting and I’m starving.”

Tony was still wondering why those people who interrogated Happy wouldn’t let him have any contact with him. Who was it they were after and why did it involve him?

”Yeah, Hap. I’m in the mood for a cheeseburger.” He said.

”You’re always in the mood for a cheeseburger.” Happy said. “But fine. Where do you wanna meet at?”

”The usual place.” Tony told him. “I’ll be waiting.”

Happy hung up first while he got up from his chair and drank the rest of his cold coffee. “Hey Fri, who were the people who were investigating Happy?” He asked as he left his cup on the counter and wasted no time hurrying to his room.

”Agents for the government.” She replied as he undressed.

”Interesting.” He mused. “Can you access the files and find out what’s going on?” He asked as he pulled on a dress shirt and began buttoning it up.

”These files are heavily encrypted.” Friday told him. “The information on them are consisting of codewords for two individuals under high suspicions and are labeled as immediate threats.“

Tony had just finished putting on his belt. “Who are the two?”

”Nothing says for certain expect the consistent use of the words ‘armor’ and ‘tank’.” She reported. “I assume they are code names given how often they are used and what they are being used for.”

Tony eyed his shoes on the floor warily as he walked over to them. His ribs would sting if he bent down too far to get something, and usually he would just do it and be done with it, but every minuscule movement he did caused nothing but tiny jabs of pain.

”Shoeless it is.” He sighed as he grabbed his wallet and made his way out of the room.

”You have an incoming call from from Colonel Rhodes.” Friday informed him.

”Honeybear?” He asked a little surprised. Rhodey wasn’t supposed to call him until two. “Put him on.” He said as he made his way down to his workshop.

”Where’s Happy?” Came Rhodey’s urgent voice.

He froze as soon as he registered his friend’s panic. “Wh—“

“Answer the question, Tony!” Came the command.

”He’s driving. I’m about to meet him right now— Rhodey, what’s going on?” Tony demanded now on high alert.

”Has he done anything prior to contacting you?”

His voice rose. ”No, he hasn’t, tell me what the hell is going on.”

”I’ll call you later.” Came a hurried reply before a dead line.

Tony stood rigidly surrounded by all of his latest projects that had been left to collect dust. He felt panic rising more by the second the longer he listened to the static of the line. “Friday, what the fuck was that about?”

He heard how harsh that had sounded and only had a second to think about that while Friday gave him an answer. “According to the government, someone has attempted to hack into top secret documents relating to code names ‘armor’ and 'tank'.”

“Was it us?”

”No.” She responded. “This was not traced to us. While their technology was of high quality, the government broke through it. This person was trying to duplicate the files.”

Tony pulled up a hologram of the server they used to look into the government’s files. He examined it and saw that Friday was right about the tech they used. It was very secure and nearly untraceable, except trying to duplicate the files meant the person had to be verified. “Do you think it was that criminal Happy mentioned?”

”Yes.” Friday replied while he got busy tampering with the server of the hacker.

”Don’t you think it was kind of a coincidence that while we happened to be looking at the files, someone else was too?” He mused whenever he saw the time of the breach. “Not even a minute off.”

He had a feeling that whoever was trying to duplicate the files was using Friday's presence as cover. While Tony was very good at not being traced, that didn't make it impossible. There was a very high possibility that whoever this was had tried to take the files and wanted to expose Friday once they finished.

Tony stared at the hacker’s server. “Trace it. Whoever this is has dangerous tech I need to keep track of. See if it’s a new super villain in training or something.”

”Like the government and their technology, this will take some time to breach.” She informed.

“That’s fine. Just as long as we see who our man behind the mask is.” He said as he shooed the hologram away. “Still got a lunch date. This could wait until later. Friday, how far is Happy from the restaurant?” Tony asked as he walked faster to an older suit model.

”Approximately three minutes.”

”I can still beat him.” He activated the Mark 43 suit and winced whenever the chest piece hit his ribs. The right forearm part of the armor couldn’t fit over his cast whenever he summoned it.

Tony sighed in frustration. “Well I’m going out in an incomplete suit. I don’t care right now.” He muttered as he once again piloted the suit out of the workshop.

He hasn’t wielded the Ironman suit since the day of Civil War. Tony couldn’t recall the last time he went so long without at least wearing the suit. He was expecting some kind of new PTSD symptoms connected to the suit the second he felt the cold metal on his skin again, but that didn’t happen.

Instead, once again being in one of his full metal suits of armor felt good. No high blood pressure or irregular heartbeats. If anything it seemed to soothe him. Rogers and Barnes didn’t take away the love of his suits. Of being Ironman.

Tony spotted Happy’s car whenever he flew closer to the restaurant. He dove down toward the building with vigor that would put Olympic divers to shame.

Whenever he got close enough to the ground, he slowed down almost to a halt and turned upright. He watched Happy park right as soon as his feet touched the ground.

Happy got out of his car and joined the twenty other people seated at their tables outside of the restaurant to have their full attention on Tony. “For once you can’t complain about me being late.” Happy said as he approached him.

”I have no idea what you’re talking about. You kept me waiting so long that I had to cancel all of my other news appointments.”

That made Happy stop before him and look slightly alarmed. “Really?”

”No, Hap.”

Happy laughed and brought him into a hug. “It’s good to hear from you again.”

Tony gave him a few pats on the back with his cast clad arm and pulled away. “Ditto. So tell me more about how you got roped up into apparently being a spy.”

”Sure, but I do have to say that we have a lot of viewers thanks to your grand entrance.” Happy commented with a look around them.

”Yep. Right.” Tony dispelled the armor to send back to the workshop. Whenever the last piece took to the skies, their audience began to clap. Tony shook his head at the noise and indicated an empty table. “Shall we?”

The two of them took a spot under an umbrella right outside of the restaurant. “I thought we were supposed to wait to be seated?”

Tony waved his hand at the thought. “They don’t care. I tip very well so I’d say they gave us a VIP pass by now.”

Happy shrugged. “Fair enough.” He took notice of Tony’s cast. “Hey, did you get that from Civil War?”

“Happy, you are probably the ninetieth person to ask me that question this week alone. I’m getting so sick of having to lie to the news, and then getting lectured by those who know the truth. If you honestly want to know, now is not the time to find out.”

Happy’s eyebrows shot up while he raised his hands in a surrendering gesture.

A waiter stopped at their table. “Good morning! What can I get to drink for y’all?” He asked.

“Hi, a coffee and a cheeseburger for me. Happy, what do you want?”

”Just a water and a breakfast plate.” He told him.

”Alright, I’ll be out with your folks’ drinks and get your meal here real quick.” He said with a pleasant smile before disappearing back inside the building.

”He didn’t even get the chance to give us our menus.” Happy said as he stared after the man.

”Well then I guess we just made his life a whole lot easier. Now spill. Tell me about why you’ve secretly been a spy without me knowing.”

Happy snorted. “I’ve told you pretty much everything on the phone. They just bugged me with questions and then let me go whenever they found out I wasn’t a spy for the guy they’re after.”

The waiter came back to drop off Happy’s water with ice and Tony’s hot coffee before walking away again.

”Well you got yourself into some shady business, Hap. Any ideas on what you did to get their attention?” Tony asked while he raised his cup.

Happy thought about it for a second. “Yeah, actually. They told me why I was a prime suspect.”

Tony grimaced at the sip he took. “Ugh. My coffee’s better.” He set the cup down. “Well what did they say?”

Happy frowned a little at whatever he thought about. “They said it was because I was ‘in affiliation’ with you.”

He was taken aback by that. “Really.”

”Yeah!” Happy said incredulously. “These guys really don’t trust you. In fact, I’m not even supposed to be telling you any of this. The two of them and whoever they work for are fools if they think they can keep me, your own bodyguard and friend, from talking about any of this to you.”

Tony leaned back in his seat and shook his head at all of the new information. It’s true that he hasn’t said a word to Ross, but the guy actually thought he was helping spies of criminals now?

”They said that, huh?” He asked mostly to himself. Now the damn government didn’t trust him.

Happy took a drink from his water. “I wouldn’t worry about it. I don’t think the two of them really had any solid evidence that I was ever a spy. If I had to take a guess, I would say they were just desperate to try and find someone that had any kind of connection to their criminal. I felt like they were questioning you whenever they were interrogating me.” Happy told him. “Obviously they couldn’t get to you since you’re in the media right now, not to mention untouchable, so I was second choice.”

That did make a lot of sense that they would choose Happy over Pepper or Rhodey. Pepper was a big part of Stark Industries and they would get sued if she was accused of being a spy with nothing to back it up. Rhodey was already working with the government joined at the hip so even implying he was a spy meant Armageddon for everyone. So that left Happy.

The waiter came back with their two trays of food. “Here you are. Sorry ‘bout that, folks. I reckon there was a bit of a cattywampus in the kitchen.” He said placing the plates in front of them. “Enjoy your meal.”

Tony didn't realize how hungry he was until he glanced down at his burger and saw how tempting it looked. He couldn't even recall the last time he ate. He gingerly picked up the burger with his good hand and took a big bite from it. Only then did he remember why this was his favorite restaurant. The juicy flavors of the meat practically made him melt on the spot.

Happy leaned a little to the side and stared at him expectedly. "Tony?"

He opened his eyes not even realizing he had closed them. "Hm." His mouth was still full.

"I asked how Peter was." Happy said as he picked up his knife and fork to cut into his meal. "While I was being investigated, the kid would not stop calling and calling to ask how you were doing and where you were." He cut off a piece and looked back at Tony.

Tony finished the bite he had and looked pointedly at Happy. "The kid's fine. More than fine, actually. After I got ambushed at my house, he managed to get away with my coffeemaker. And now I get calls from a new addition to the 'Every Ring Is Crucial' squad." He said as he took another bite.

Happy laughed and shook his head at that. "Is that what you named us? The people who just want to make sure you're okay and that you don't blow up a building?"

"Yep. 'ERIC' for short." Tony drank some more of his coffee. It didn't taste as good because it was the cheap kind. No flavor and just a whole bunch of sours and bitter undertones. The only other option would just be to make it liquid diabetes, but he honestly wasn't that big on sweets. He grimaced again and set it off to the side. "Why did you let me get this stuff again? I thought I told you once to remind me to stop ordering the coffee from here."

Happy shrugged and began to cut another piece of his breakfast. "You forget that my memory isn't great either."

Tony took another bite of his burger. Happy didn't have that good of memory, but Tony's was worse. He wasn't the type to remember things that didn't mean a lot to him. Not to say coffee wasn't a vital part of him by now, but he usually didn't eat out that much if at all.

"How are y'all doing?" The waiter asked as he stopped at their table.

"Great. I just need a water." Tony told him.

"You got it." The waiter said before disappearing again.

"Oh!" Happy suddenly jolted up. "I almost forgot!" Tony chewed and watched Happy drink some water before talking. "Peter's birthday is in a few months. It's in August."

Tony paused in picking up a french fry. "Really." He asked to confirm what he heard.

"Here you are." The waiter said as he placed the glass by Tony. "If you folks need anything else, just give me a holler." He smiled and walked away.

"Yeah." Happy said oblivious to Tony's shock. "*He's turning seventeen I think." He cut off another piece and looked back at Tony.

"Huh." He put down the french fry and instead took his water. He could feel Happy now staring at him while he pretended to be invested in drinking from his glass.

Happy's eyebrows furrowed together. "What's wrong?"

Tony shook his head. "Nothing's wrong." He put down the glass and looked anywhere but at Happy.

He hadn't known when Peter's birthday was, and it did sting a little that the kid didn't tell him. Tony actually had a gift he was ready to give to Peter the next time he saw him. He didn't even think about a birthday until now.

Realization struck Happy's features before softening. "You always jump to assumptions." He shook his head with a smile. "I didn't find out from Peter. May told me. Peter had been calling my number so much that she got worried and decided to call and see who it was. We got to chatting and she told me before distinctly saying, ' _Don't tell Peter I told you. He's bashful whenever people fuss over him_ '."

Tony let that sink in for a couple of seconds. He would never say out loud that Happy clarifying that made him feel a hell of a lot better. He knew why thinking Peter didn't tell him about his birthday made him feel disheartened. The kid had grown on him and he would be upset if Peter decided to tell everyone except him. Somehow he wanted to be a part of the kid's life and be there for him.

His shoulders relaxed and he finally turned to look at Happy, who had the smuggest smile Tony had ever seen from him. "Did you get prickly, Dad?"

Tony went rigid all at once from those words. He took a few moments to process what Happy had just said before he scowled at him. "Don't do that." 

Happy's grin grew wider. "Do what, Pop?"

His scowl deepened. "Stop it."

"Am I scaring you, Père?"

"Okay, I didn't even know you _knew_ that word, and you already know the answer to that. I'm leaving. Before you give me a myocardial infarction." He announced as he made to stand up.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Happy placated quickly. "I was just messing with you."

Tony was still glaring at him, but sank back into his chair. Of course he had thought of Peter as a protégé or a successor to him. And a few times now he had realized that doing things like caring about what Peter liked and giving him his own coffeemaker pushed the bounds of those terms, but that didn't mean he was ready to consider using any other word besides sandwiching between the two.

"I get that, but that's not how it is." He said before he tried calming himself by gulping down more water.

Happy snorted. "The kid makes sure you're okay, Tony." He shook his head incredulously at him. "What does that tell you?"

"I'm not in denial." Tony defended.

"I didn't say you were."

"But you implied it. Bottom line, me and the kid aren't that close." He finished before eating another fry.

"Well I'll tell you now that that kid, Peter, is turning seventeen in three months. I'm just saying, that’s not a lot of time. If you want to be that close to him, I would really highly recommend you start building up to that now.”

Tony was right about to say something, before he was interrupted. "I have successfully traced the source to the hacker." Came Friday's voice in his earpiece.

All defensiveness in Tony vanished as soon as he heard Friday's voice. "Well?" He asked anxiously. "Is it anyone we know?"

Friday took a second to respond. "Yes." Came her reply. "I have traced the hacker's connection and linked it to someone from the 'Help Immediately List'."

Happy was staring at Tony very confused, but Tony wasn't paying any attention to anything other than Friday's voice. Happy could have vanished right before his eyes for all he knew and he wouldn't have noticed.

"Number 7 on the List: Natasha Romanov."

Tony stood up so fast his chair fell behind him. He immediately summoned his suit just as Happy shot up right after him. "Everything alright?" Happy asked concerned.

He impatiently stalked in any direction not even knowing where to go. He was just so pissed that he didn't see everyone's eyes on him or hear Happy trying to talk to him. Tony was fuming and all he could do was wait for his suit to get there.

Happy caught him by the shoulder and stared at him with concern. "What happened?"

Tony forced his eyes to meet Happy's and made sure to will himself to keep his arms firmly at his sides. He didn't trust himself to talk about anything right now. He knew that talking whenever he was angry made him say horrible things that weren't even true half the time. He forced a shaky breath and forced his eyes shut. No way would he let himself hurt Happy.

The suit once again enveloped him in pieces which had Happy startle and let him go. The suit hadn't even finished assembling before he took to the skies and headed right back to his house. He would need to apologize to Happy later and pay him back for eating and running.

He could hear Friday playing music again, but it honestly did nothing to help him this time.

"Motherfucker!" Tony cursed as soon as he was back in his house. "Rhodey was right all along!" He yelled at the ceiling. His footsteps were deafening in the silent house as he stalked to his bedroom. "Where's that letter." He demanded as he tore through everything around him.

"The kitchen." Friday informed him.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized Friday hadn't called him 'Boss' since Vision's visit. That thought went just as quick as it came by the time he spotted the letter. He roughly opened it and finally read the stupid thing.

_"Tony, I’m glad you’re back at the compound, I don’t like the idea of you rattling around a mansion by yourself. We all need family. The Avengers are yours, maybe more so than mine. I’ve been on my own since I was 18. I never really fit in anywhere – even in the Army. My faith is in people, I guess. Individuals. And I’m happy to say for the most part, they haven’t let me down. Which is why I can’t let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but – maybe they shouldn’t. I know I hurt you Tony. I guess I thought – by not telling you about your parents I was sparing you, but… I can see now I was really sparing myself. I’m sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand. I wish we agreed on the Accords, I really do. I know you were only doing what you believe in, and that’s all any of us can do, it’s all any of us should. So no matter what, I promise if you -- if you need us. If you need me, I’ll be there. Steve"_

"That's fucking it." He declared as he dispelled his suit. "Rogers obviously doesn't know shit. He thinks I'm at the Compound, he thinks we're a fucking _family_ , he has the audacity to say he 'can’t let people down', and then he thinks just saying 'I'm sorry' to me will make it all okay?" Tony shook his head and chuckled bitterly. "Friday. Contact Vision.”

Tony stormed into his dining room and waited. "For me to even think for a _second_ —" He shook his head. "'I'll be there'. That's such horseshit." He spat.

"Tony." Vision said as he appeared on the monitor.

"Vision, we can talk in a minute. I need you to get over here right now." Tony commanded. "Right now, you hear?" He emphasized before cutting the call. "Friday."

"Yes?" Came her reply.

"Ready IDA and contact the Rogues. I finally know what I'm gonna do."

* * *

Natasha and the rest of them were all trying to come up with ways to fix their situation. She was currently reading through news articles Tony had been interviewed in while the rest of her team were talking amongst each other or doing the same thing as her. They fled to Ireland and were now trying to figure out how to negotiate with Tony and the rest of the government.

None of them could get ahold of Vision, and aside from the letter Steve had delivered to the Compound in the hopes that Tony would be with Vision and Rhodes, they haven't had any contact.

She followed the lines of text on the tablet Tony had given to her sometime ago. Natasha noticed his cast which made her wonder just how badly Tony had gotten hurt from their fight. All of them were surprised Tony hadn't yet responded to Steve's letter since Tony was adamant on keeping them together.

Natasha had tried to steal the government's files like Nick had ordered her to do. But after she saw she got noticed by the government, she had no choice but to submit her daily report to Nick empty handed. Nick had tried to get her to get him the files at an unusual time and insisted she do it _'immediately'._

She clicked on another site and got a full view of Tony's face addressing the press. Natasha could see he looked upset and very tired. She figured it was from them. For the last week she had gone through his interviews to see and report to her boss and the team what Tony said about them and where he stood. So far she hasn't been successful. Tony chose what he said wisely.

"Hey, look!" She heard Clint say surprised.

Natasha looked up and saw the rest of her team look to where Clint was pointing. At the monitor.

"Should I alert T'Challa?" Sam asked Steve.

"No." Steve replied. "He doesn't need to deal with this after the death of his father." His gaze was set on Tony's name trying to contact them. "We can tell him later."

They had been in Wakanda for a time before they decided they didn't want to overstay their welcome.

Clint answered the call at last. Tony and the room he was in filled the screen. He looked about ready to blow a fuse.

"Tony." Steve said with a slight nod. The rest of them stayed silent.

Natasha saw a quick flash of something off to the side of the screen come and go from the frame. It was too quick for her to tell what it was.

"I got your message." Tony said lowly before his eyes shifted from Steve's to hers. "Yours too."

She didn't know what he meant by that, but didn't let that show. Steve looked at her curiously before turning his attention back to Tony. "You know where we are." He stated.

"Yep." Tony said popping the 'p'. "And the government will know too."

Everyone suddenly looked alarmed while she briefly stiffened. "Why would you do that?" Wanda shouted angrily at the screen.

Natasha saw the same flicker from the side of the frame before it was gone again. "Because I finally realize that I don't owe any of you anything." Tony said darkly. "You all flee the country and expect me to save your asses, which by the way, _you're welcome._ I give you my technology and don't ask for anything else but cooperation."

"And what do I get? I get trauma," He looked at Wanda. "Attacks," he looked at Steve. "Animosity," a look at Clint. "Backstabbing," a pointed look at her. "And conformity," a glance at Sam. "But that stops now."

"So what, you're leaving the team?" Steve asked Tony. "What about what I wrote you?"

"Your letter means shit to me, _Cap._ You really embarrassed yourself whenever you wrote I was at the Compound." His eyebrows rose. "And speaking of which.

An image of the Compound popped up next to Tony on the screen. "See that? The heart of the Avengers, right?"

"Tony, come on, whatever you’re about to do, don’t do it. Let's talk this out." Steve told him.

"Alright, fine. You have one minute to say whatever you want before I bust out IDA. Time starts now."

"What's this about?" Natasha asked drawing everyone's attention. "Something set you off."

"You of all people know damn well what 'set me off', Romanov. I saw that little stunt you pulled today." He told her.

Her posture straightened. Tony noticed this.

"Yeah I know what you were trying to do. Pin the blame on me yet again, right?"

Now she knew why Nick was so adamant on her hacking during that time. He wanted to make it seem like it was Tony.

"Where's Vision?" Wanda demanded at him.

"He's fine. He'll talk to you whenever he wants to." Tony said as he frowned at her.

"How can we fix this?" Steve asked him. "We can work something out."

"Oh, that's just rich coming from you. You didn't want to 'fix' things with Civil War or 'work something out' whenever I got blamed and shunned for Ultron." Tony said with a scowl. "And about that bad boy you pride yourself with? I'm melting it."

Natasha raised an eyebrow while the rest of the Avengers were confused too. Everyone except Steve who visibly stiffened.

"Alright, time for you to meet IDA. Clever name in my opinion." Tony said as he made the Compound's screen slightly bigger.

All of them watched closely at the screen. "You wanna know what IDA stands for?"

Natasha's eyes widened whenever she saw a hoard of missiles heading straight for the building.

Tony leaned closer to the screen. “I'm Done, Assholes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man that felt good to write haha  
> I’d say they got what they deserved.
> 
> *Peter's supposed to be fourteen in Civil War(just wow), and fifteen in Homecoming(a reader informed me lol), but I decided to make him two years older. It becomes important later on and also because I legitimately thought he was sixteen. So he's sixteen right now! Also, MCU Peter's birthday is August 10th, Comic book Peter's is August 27th. In this he is a Leo and I'm rolling with the 10th of August ;)
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!


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